>  o 


77 W 

PROCEEDIKGS 


OF    THE 


NATIONAL 


SHIP-CANAL  CONVENTION, 


HELD  AT  THE  CITY  OF  CHICAGO, 


3,   1863. 


CHICAGO: 

TRIBUNE   COMPANY'S   BOOK   AND   JOB   PRINTING   OFFICE,   51    CLARK   STREET. 


1863. 


THE   UNIVERSITY 

OF   ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 


N 
co  p. 

!LUNO!S  HISTORICAL  SURVEY 


PROCEEDINGS 


O  F     TH  E 


NATIONAL 


SHIP-CANAL  CONVENTION, 


HELD  AT  THE  CITY  OF  CHICAGO, 


JUNE  2  ^ND  3,   1863 


CHICAGO: 

TRIBUNE  COMPANY'S  BOOK  AND  JOB  PRINTING  OFFICE,  51  CLARK  STREET. 

1863. 


fltfjuss*--' 


PROCEEDINGS. 


CALL  FOR  A  NATIONAL  SHIP-CANAL  CONVENTION. 


WiSHiNGToir,  D.  C.,  March  2,  1868. 

Regarding  the  enlargement  of  the  Canals  between  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Atlantic  as  of  great  National,  Commercial  and  Military  importance,  and  as 
tending  to  promote  the  Development,  Prosperity  and  Unity  of  our  WHOLE  COUNTRY, 
we  invite  a  meeting  of  all  those  interested  in  the  subject,  in  Chicago,  on  the  first 
Tuesday  in  June  next.  We  especially  ask  the  co-operation  and  aid  of  the  Boards 
of  Trade,  Chambers  of  Commerce,  Agricultural  Societies,  and  Business  Associa- 
tions of  the  country. 

Edward  Bates,  Attorney  General  TJ.  S. 


Members  of  the  House. 
Isaac  N.  Arnold,  Illinois. 
A.  G.  Riddle,  Ohio. 
E.  B.  Washburne,  Illinois. 
H.  L.  Dawes,  Massachusetts. 
A.  B.  Olin,  New  York. 
Justin  S.  Morrill,  Vermont. 

E.  G.  Spaulding,  New  York. 
S.  Hooper,  Massachusetts. 
Portus  Baxter,  Vermont. 
Schuyler  Colfax,  Indiana. 
George  P.  Fisher,  Delaware. 
Augustus  Frank,  New  York. 
Cyrus  Aldrich,  Minnesota. 
R.  E.  Trowbridge,  Michigan. 
Samuel  L.  Casey,  Kentucky. 
Jos.  Segar,  Virginia. 

W.  D.  Mclndoe,  Wisconsin. 

F.  C.  Beaman,  Michigan. 

W.  P.  Sheffield,  Rhode  Island. 

Alfred  Ely,  New  York. 

J.  M.  Ashley,  Ohio. 

Oilman  Marston,  New  Hampshire. 

F.  F.  Low,  California. 

Samuel  T.  Worcester,  Ohio. 

John  W.  Wallace,  Pennsylvania. 

Benjamin  F.  Thomas,  Massachusetts. 

T.  C.  Phelps,  California. 

Thomas  D.  Eliot,  Massachusetts. 

William  J.  Allen,  Illinois. 

A.  A.  Sargent,  California. 

W.  E.  Lansing,  New  York. 

Jesse  0.  Norton,  Illinois. 


P.  B.  Fouke,  Illinois. 

George  W.  Julian,  Indiana. 

W.  R.  Morrison,  Illinois. 

Wm.  Morris  Davis,  Pennsylvania. 

William  Kellogg,  Illinois. 

J.  M.  Goodwin,  Maine. 

Stephen  Baker,  New  York. 

James  S.  Rollins,  Missouri. 

C.  W.  Dunlap,  Kentucky. 

Thomas  L.  Price,  Missouri. 

J.  C.  Robinson,  Illinois. 

Horace  Maynard,  Tennessee. 

Charles  Delano,  Massachusetts. 

F.  W.  Kellogg,  Michigan. 

A.  J.  Clements,  Tennessee. 

John  H.  Rice,  Maine. 

S.  N.  Sherman,  New  York. 

A.  W.  Clarke,  New  York. 

Theodore  M.  Pomeroy,  New  York. 

R.  E.  Fenton,  New  York. 

A.  S.  Diven,  New  York. 

Burt  Van  Horn,  New  York. 

R.  B.  Van  Valkenburg,  New  York. 

M.  F.  Conway,  Kansas. 

Wm.  Windom,  Minnesota. 

Dwight  Loomi*,  Connecticut 

R.  Franchot,  New  York. 

C.  H.  Van  Wyck,  New  York. 

Elijah  Ward,  New  York. 

John  F.  Potter,  Wisconsin. 

James  B.  McKean,  New  York. 

Wm.  Vandever,  Iowa. 

Owen  Lovejoy,  Illinois. 


' 


E.  P.  Walton,  Vermont. 

John  Hutehins,  Ohio. 

W.  H.Wallace, Washington  Territory. 

Edward  Haight,  New  York. 

A.  L.  Knapp,  Illinois. 

George  0.  Woodruff,  Connecticut. 
Amasa  Walker,  Massachusetts. 

B.  F.  Granger,  Michigan. 
Edward  H.  Smith,  New  York. 
John  B.  Alley,  Massachusetts. 
A.  S.  White,  Indiana. 
Samuel  C.  Fessenden,  Maine. 
S.  Edgerton,  Ohio. 

James  H.  Campbell,  Pennsylvania. 
H.  P.  Bennett,  Colorado. 


Members  of  the  Senate, 
J.  R.  Doolittle,  Wisconsin. 
James  Harlan,  Iowa. 
James  Dixon,  Connecticut. 
H.  M.  Rice,  Minnesota. 
James  A.  McDougall,  California. 
J.  B.  Henderson,  Missouri. 
J.  H.  Lane,  Kansas. 
R.  Wilson,  Missouri. 
S.  C.  Pomeroy,  Kansas. 
L.  Trumbull,  Illinois. 
W.  A.  Richardson,  Illinois. 
Charles  Sumner,  Massachusetts. 
Henry  Wilson,  Massachusetts. 
J.  M.  Howard,  Michigan. 


PURSUANT  to  the  above  call,  delegates  from  nearly  all  the  loyal 
States  assembled  at  Chicago,  on  June  2,  1863,  to  the  number  of 
about  five  thousand.  The  day  was  propitious ;  and  a  spacious  tent 
was  erected  for  the  accommodation  of  the  delegates,  on  Lake  Park, 
between  Eldridge  and  Harmon  Courts,  and  overlooking  the  blue 
waters  of  Lake  Michigan. 


MORNING  SESSION. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  at  eleven  o'clock  A.M.,  by  Dr. 
D.  BRAINARD,  of  Chicago,  who  nominated  the  Hon.  CHAUNCEY 
FILLET,  Mayor  of  St.  Louis,  for  temporary  Chairman. 

The  nomination  was  agreed  to,  and,  upon  his  introduction  to  the 
Convention  by  Dr.  BRAINARD,  the  CHAIRMAN  said : 

Gentlemen  of  the  National  Convention: — I  thank  you  for  the 
honor  you  confer  upon  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  the  city  of  St. 
Louis.  I  have  been  sent  here  by  the  people  of  that  great  com- 
mercial metropolis,  to  represent  her  interests  in  this  meeting.  I 
can  give  to  you  the  objects  and  views  of  the  City  Council  of  St. 
Louis,  with  reference  to  the  business  before  us,  by  reading  the 
preamble  and  resolutions  which  they  have  passed  on  the  subject, 
better,  perhaps,  than  I  could  do  in  any  other  way.  They  are  to  the 
following  effect : 

WHEREAS,  A  National  Convention  is  about  to  assemble  at  the  city  of  Chicago, 
to  deliberate  in  reference  to  the  proposed  enlargement  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan, 
and  New  York  and  Erie  canals;  therefore, 

Be  it  Resolved,  By  the  Common  Council  of  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  that,  as  the 
representatives  of  this  great  commercial  metropolis,  we  look  with  much  interest 
and  anxiety  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  project  proposed  for  the  consideration 
of  the  Convention. 

And  be  it  further  Resolved,  That  the  President  of  this  Council  be,  and  he  is  hereby, 
instructed  to  appoint  five  members  thereof,  to  represent  the  city  in  her  corporate 


capacity  in  the  said  Convention ;  and  that  his  Honor,  the  Mayor,  be  requested  to 
act  in  conjunction  with  the  delegates  so  appointed  ;  and  that  the  Mayor  be  author- 
ized to  appoint  five  delegates  outside  of  said  Council,  to  represent  the  city  in  said 
Convention. 

Dr.  BRAINARD.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  nominate  for  Corres- 
ponding Secretaries,  Hon.  MOSES  M.  STRONG,  of  Wisconsin  ;  A.  M. 
CLAPP,  Esq.,  of  Buffalo;  and  W.  H.  McHENRY,  Esq.,  of  St.  Louis. 

The  nominations  were  confirmed. 

The  CHAIRMAN  introduced  the  Rev.  BISHOP  SIMPSON  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  who,  amid  reverential  silence,  came 
forward,  and  invoked  the  Divine  blessing  as  follows : 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  and  everlasting  God,  our  Heavenly  Father;  Thou  art 
the  Creator  of  all  Worlds,  the  Sovereign  of  all  Nations;  All  wisdom 
is  from  thee ;  Thou  rulest  in  the  armies  of  Heaven,  and  on  the 
Earth  beneath.  Assembled  as  we  are  this  day  from  various  States, 
Districts  and  Cities, — in  commencing  our  deliberations  on  matters 
which  may  be  of  vast  importance  to  our  Country,  and  of  untold 
interest  to  millions  of  our  Posterity,  we  desire  to  invoke  thy 
presence,  and  thy  blessing;  for  we  know,  that  without  thy  aid,  no 
good  can  be  accomplished,  and  that  the  hearts  of  the  children  of 
men  are  in  thy  hands.  We  adore  thee  for  all  thou  hast  done  for 
us ;  for  the  goodly  land  which  thou  hast  given  us ;  for  its  moun- 
tains and  its  plains;  for  its  lakes  and  its  rivers;  for  its  genial  clime 
and  its  fertile  soil.  We  bless  thee  for  those  rays  of  Science,  and 
those  movements  in  Art,  which  thou  hast  sent  abroad  upon  the 
Earth,  and  which  have  developed  in  part  the  resources  which  thou 
hast  given  us.  We  bless  thee  that  our  mountains  have  been 
pierced,  so  that  our  lands  might  be  girt  by  bands  of  iron.  We 
praise  thee  for  the  diffusion  of  Intelligence,  and  for  the  blessing  of 
a  high  order  of  Christian  Civilization;  and  we  pray  that  these 
blessings  may  continue  to  abound  among  us,  until  all  parts  of  the 
Country  shall  be  united  indissolubly  together;  that  Art  and  Science 
shall  bless  the  Land;  until  all  the  resources  of  this  vast  country 
shall  be  developed  under  thy  smile ;  and  that  the  light  of  thy 
countenance  shall  be  and  remain  upon  this  people. 

And,  O  Lord ;  we  pray  that  thou  mayest  be  with  these  Delega- 
tions ;  may  no  sickness  come  upon  them ;  may  no  accident  befall 
them ;  may  they  be  returned  to  their  families  in  safety  ;  and  may 
there  be  cordial  greetings,  without  one  pang  of  woe.  May  thy 
blessing  so  rest  upon  them  in  all  their  deliberations,  that,  in  the 
final  issue,  they  may  be  found  to  have  consulted  together  wisely 
and  harmoniously;  and  may  they  see  the  issue  happily  consummated, 
and  the  whole  Country  and  People  more  closely  united  than  ever 
before. 

Hear  us  for  our  Country !  God  of  our  Fathers  ;  Look  upon  our 
Nation  in  love.  Bless  thy  servant,  the  President  of  the  United 


6 

States ;  may  the  Spirit  of  Wisdom  be  upon  him,  and  all  who  are 
associated  with  him  in  Cabinet  council.  Bless  the  Governors  of 
States,  and  the  Members  of  Congress;  may  they  devise  such  laws 
and  measures,  as  shall  be  for  the  Interest,  Peace,  and  Prosperity  of 
our  Land.  Guide  all  our  officers,  civil  and  military,  to  such  measures 
as  shall  be  for  the  benefit  of  our  great  and  wide-spread  Nation. 
We  pray  thee,  O  Lord,  to  let  this  terrible  conflict  very  speedily 
come  to  a  close.  If  it  be  thy  will,  Lord,  may  Peace  take  the  place 
of  War;  and,  on  the  principles  of  Equity  and  Righteousness,  may 
our  Nation  be  united  and  happy ; — a  prosperous  Nation,  whose  God 
is  the  Lord.  May  the  Voice  of  War  be  heard  amongst  us  no  more, 
and  the  Spirit  of  Peace  and  Consolation  be  spread  over  the  Earth, 
until  the  family  of  Nations  shall  dwell  together  as  one  vast  and 
universal  Brotherhood. 

Hear  us,  O  Lord,  while  we  further  pray,  in  the  language  which 
thou  hast  taught  us : 

Our  Father  who  art  in  Heaven,  Hallowed  be  thy  Name ;  Thy 
Kingdom  come  ;  Thy  Will  be  done  on  Earth  as  it  is  in  Heaven; 
Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread ;  And  forgive  us  our  trespasses,  as 
we  forgive  those  who  trespass  against  us ;  And  lead  us  not  into 
temptation  ;  But  deliver  us  from  evil :  For  thine  is  the  Kingdom, 
and  the  Power,  and  the  Glory,  forever  and  ever.  Amen. 

The  CHAIRMAN.     Dr.  BRAINARD  will  now  welcome  the  delegates 
on  the  part  of  the  city  of  Chicago. 
Dr.  BRAINARD  then  addressed  the  Convention  as  follows : 

Mr.  Chairman,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : — I  appear 
before  you  in  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Trade  of  Chicago,  the  Mercantile 
Association,  and  the  citizens  in  general,  to  bid  you  welcome  to  this 
City,  and  the  West.  Chicago,  although  not  possessing  the  historical 
associations  or  venerable  institutions  which  give  interest  to  the 
cities  of  older  States,  presents  an  example  of  what  may  be  done 
by  unaided  industry,  and  exhibits  the  spectacle  of  an  intelligent 
and  free  people  establishing  by  themselves  the  foundations  of 
society.  She  already  embraces  within  her  limits  the  largest 
granaries  of  the  world,  and  numerous  important  manufactures ; 
but,  more  than  all,  she  has  a  population  unsurpassed  in  enterprise 
and  patriotism,  who  unite,  one  and  all,  in  offering  you  a  heart-felt 
welcome. 

Your  presence  here  fills  us  with  joy.  To  see  so  many  bearing 
honorable  names ;  so  many  representatives  of  other  States  and 
large  cities  here  assembled;  fills  us  with  gratitude  which  no  words 
can  express. 

The  occasion  which  has  called  you  together  is  one  of  no  ordinary 
character.  It  is  not  the  call  of  a  famishing  people,  nor  of  cities 
threatened  by  hostile  armies  ;  it  is  the  voice  of  men  shut  out  from 
the  markets  of  the  world,  oppressed  by  the  excessive  productions 
of  their  own  toil,  which  remain  wasting  and  worthless  upon  their 
hands,  depriving  labor  of  half  its  rewards,  discouraging  industry, 


and  paralyzing  enterprise.  In  their  distress  they  called  upon  the  Na- 
tional Legislature — that  government  to  which  they  owe  allegiance, 
and  to  the  support  of  which  their  lives  and  property  are  devoted — 
and  failed  to  obtain  that  relief  which  they  had  a  right  to  expect. 
Now  they  appeal  to  the  people  themselves — to  the  wise,  the  enlight- 
ened, the  patriotic,  and  the  powerful — in  a  word,  they  appeal  to 
you,  gentlemen,  and  ask  you  to  speak  in  their  behalf  that  word  of 
power  which,  in  a  good  cause  and  in  a  free  government,  will  not 
be  spoken  in  vain. 

Need  I  tell  you  of  the  history  of  this  region  in  whose  behalf 
your  sympathies  are  asked?  This  city,  Illinois,  and  her  sister 
States  of  the  North- West,  are  but  of  yesterday.  Many  of  you  have 
witnessed  their  birth  and  their  growth;  with  their  present  popula- 
tion and  its  increase,  their  extent  and  fertility,  their  commerce  and 
productions,  and  their  capacities  for  boundless  expansion  in  the 
future, — all  must  be  familiar;  and  to  dwell  upon  them  would  be  to 
repeat  a  tale  already  many  times  told. 

To  others  more  capable  has,  moreover,  been  committed  the  task 
of  supplying  those  facts,  by  which  a  certain  judgment  may  be 
formed,  and  on  which  intelligent  action  may  be  based. 

The  sons  of  the  West  have  demonstrated  their  loyalty,  their 
patriotism,  and  their  courage,  on  every  battle-field.  The  pages  of 
history  on  which  their  actions  are  written,  are  not  dimmed  by  a 
single  blot.  Their  names  are  inscribed  on  the  "roll  of  honor,"  along 
with  those  which  time  shall  not  efface,  but  gild  with  brighter  lustre 
through  coming  centuries.  Even  now  the  southern  sky  is  lit  up  by 
the  glory  of  their  deeds,  and  the  nation  looks  to  their  action  for  its 
preservation,  with  a  hope  that  will  never  be  disappointed.  Such 
are  the  men  for  whom  your  efforts  are  invoked. 

Our  fertile  prairies  lay  for  centuries  untouched  by  the  hand  of 
agriculture ;  not  because  they  were  unknown,  but  because  they 
were  inaccessible.  Their  prosperity  dates  from  the  opening  of  the 
Erie  canal,  thirty-eight  years  ago.  The  increase  of  the  West,  and 
its  productiveness,  have  all  been  the  direct  result  and  consequence 
of  the  construction  of  that  and  other  channels  of  trade  and  travel. 
To  the  genius  of  DB  WITT  CLINTON,  these  States  owe  their  exist- 
ence, and  the  Nation  its  present  strength  and  greatness.  Every 
city  here  is  a  monument  to  his  honor.  From  every  domestic  altar, 
where  morning  orisons,  or  evening  thanksgivings  are  offered  to  the 
Giver  of  all  Good  for  unknown  blessings,  do  benedictions  upon  his 
name  ascend.  The  policy  which  he  established  has  stood  the  test 
of  time,  and  received  the  seal  of  success;  but  its  results  have  so  far 
exceeded  his  expectations  that  the  channels  he  projected — enlarged 
and  multiplied  as  they  have  been — are  all  filled  to  their  utmost 
capacity.  The  increase  of  the  West  may  be  stopped,  her  fertile 
fields  deserted  for  the  mines  of  Oregon,  California,  and  Colorado; 
her  bright  future  be  darkened,  and  her  people  discouraged,  by  the 
refusal  of  the  Government  to  open  those  means  of  communication, 
upon  which  her  growth  and  prosperity  depend.  Her  commerce 
begins  to  feel  the  chain  which  fetters  it ;  her  people  already  com- 


plain  that  the  fruits  of  their  labor  are  gathered  up  by  others;  and, 
while  carriers  are  enriched,  consumers  and  producers  suffer  alike, 
and  are  impoverished.  Under  these  circumstances,  she  asks  of 
Congress  to  construct  from  the  Mississippi  river  to  the  Atlantic  a 
channel,  adequate  to  the  carrying  of  her  staples,  and  supplying  her 
wants,  without  unnecessary  delay  or  exorbitant  charges. 

For  onr  own  part  of  the  work,  from  lake  Michigan  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  there  will  be  transmitted  to  you  surveys,  plans  and 
estimates,  showing  its  cost,  practicability  and  usefulness,  to  which 
we  invite  the  rigid  scrutiny  of  engineers  and  business  men.  For 
the  Eastern  division,  without  presuming  to  designate  the  route, 
what  we  would  ask  is,  that  it  should  be  broad  and  deep ;  and,  if 
practicable,  that  there  should  be  more  than  one  ;  and  the  history 
of  the  past  justifies  us  in  the  promise,  that,  however  capacious 
they  may  be,  wherever  situated,  by  whom  constructed,  they  wilt 
all  be  speedily  filled  to  overflowing. 

The  commerce  of  the  West  has  enriched  the  country  through 
which  it  has  passed.  It  has  raised  New  York  to  a  degree  of  wealth 
and  credit,  which  rivals  that  of  the  most  powerful  kingdoms.  It 
has  preserved  and  increased  the  exports  and  the  revenues  of  the 
nation  in  a  period  of  war,  when  other  sources  were  cut  off.  It  is 
yet  in  its  infancy.  Who  shall  dare  to  arrest  its  progress  ?  Who 
shall  stand  between  the  West  and  the  hungry  nations  of  the  Old 
World  ?  Whoever  he  may  be,  it  is  safe  to  predict  that  he  will 
be  swept  away,  consigned  to  infamy,  or  buried  in  oblivion. 

And  what  objection  can  be  urged  against  a  project  so  feasible 
and  so  necessary?  Is  it  that  it  is  commercial  and  not  military  in 
its  character  ?  Look  at  these  shores — at  this  lake  covered  with 
rich  cargoes ; — not  a  gun,  not  a  ship  for  their  defense.  Yet  they  are 
accessible  for  armed  vessels  from  Plymouth  and  Portsmouth ;  and 
the  hands  of  our  Government  are  tied  by  treaty  so  that  no  navy 
can  be  built  upon  these  shores,  or  launched  upon  these  waters. 
Nowhere  in  the  world  is  commerce  so  valuable,  so  left  without  pro- 
tection. It  is  essential  to  our  national  existence,  and  so  long  as  it 
remains  without  means  of  defense,  England  will  be  able  to  exact 
her  own  terms  in  all  disputes  with  our  Government,  by  an  exhibi- 
tion of  force  which  it  has  no  means  of  resisting. 

It  is  necessary  to  provide  for  a  naval  con  test  on  these  Lakes,  and 
in  no  way  can  this  be  done  so  readily  and  effectually  as  by  connect- 
ing them  with  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  Gulf  of  Mexico,  by  ship 
and  steamboat  canals.  These,  even  if  they  were  never  to  be  used 
for  the  passage  of  armed  vessels,  would  still  be  of  the  greatest 
service  in  case  of  war.  By  augmenting  the  national  wealth,  by 
attracting  population,  by  facilitating  transportation  of  food  and 
stores,  they  would  do  more  for  our  military  power  than  the  raising 
of  armies,  or  the  building  of  navies.  But  the  spirit  of  unity  and 
nationality,  which  the  mere  commencement  of  this  work  would 
engender,  is  above  all  other  considerations.  By  blending  into  one 
the  two  great  systems  of  inland  navigation  of  the  continent,  it  will 
cause  the  life-blood  of  commerce  to  move  in  a  single  current 


9 


through  all  its  channels,  as  in  the  human  system  the  blood  is  im- 
pelled through  all  the  arteries  and  veins  by  a  single  impulse  of  the 
heart.  Thus,  out  of  conflicting  parts  will  a  homogeneous  nation  be 
formed,  with  one  spirit,  and  the  same  common  interests;  with  a 
power  which  may  be  concentrated  at  every  point,  and  an  internal 
commerce  which  man  cannot  interrupt ;  such  a  nation  never  fears 
either  foreign  or  domestic  foes. 

Gentlemen,  the  object  for  which  you  are  assembled  excels  in 
magnitude,  any  ever  offered  for  the  consideration  of  a  similar 
body.  Not  only  will  the  work  proposed  join  the  Lakes  with  the 
Mississippi  River  and  the  Atlantic,  but  it  will  form  part  of  a  great 
highway  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  by  means  of  which  the 
wealth  of  Asia  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  Europe  on  the  other,  may 
be  grasped  and  made  to  pass  through  the  Bay  of  New  York,  and 
the'Golden  Gate  of  San  Francisco ;  thus  encircling  the  whole  earth, 
and  bringing  all  nations  to  pay  tribute,  and  bow  before  the  sceptre 
of  our  commerce. 

It  looks  forward  to  coming  time,  beyond  the  scope  of  human 
vision.  May  it  please  God  to  enable  you  to  comprehend  and 
accomplish  the  work  set  before  you.  It  will  be  the  grandest  step 
in  human  progress  which  the  world  has  yet  witnessed,  over  which 
religion,  humanity  and  patriotism  will  rejoice,  and  for  which  the 
voice  of  future  millions,  unknown  and  unnumbered,  shall  load  your 
memory  with  perpetual  gratitude. 

To  accomplish  objects  so  vast  will  require  not  only  labor,  perse- 
verance and  determination ;  but  a  spirit  of  justice,  of  moderation 
and  conciliation,  on  the  part  of  each  and  every  member  of  this 
Convention. 

There  are  several  routes  whose  claims  are  to  be  consulted. 
Without  presuming  to  indicate  which  of  them  may  be  most  merito- 
rious, I  may  say  with  truth,  in  behalf  of  this  city,  that  she  has 
no  jealousy  on  this  subject,  and  will  be  best  pleased  with  the  largest 
number  of  channels,  which  can  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  entire 
West;  trusting  to  the  enterprise  of  her  merchants  to  secure  her 
share  of  that  general  prosperity,  on  which  the  welfare  of  our  city 
must  depend.  Such,  gentlemen,  is  the  spirit  in  which  Chicago 
welcomes  each  member  of  this  Convention. 

Mr.  SEDGWICK,  of  New  York.  In  view  of  the  permanent  organi- 
zation of  this  Convention,  I  beg  leave  to  offer  the  following  reso- 
lution : 

Resdved,  That  a  committee  of  two  from  each  State,  and  one  from  each  Territory 
represented,  and  also  one  from  the  District  of  Columbia,  shall  be  appointed  to 
report  to  this  body  the  permanent  officers  of  the  Conveution,  consisting  of  a  Pres- 
ident, Vice  President  from  each  State,  and  five  Secretaries,  and  also  rules  for  th* 
conduct  and  government  of  the  Convention. 

The  resolution  was  agreed  to. 


10 

On  motion  of  Mr.  KELLOGG,  of  Illinois,  it  was 

Resolved,  That,  to  enable  the  several  delegations  to  name  their  respective  mem- 
bers of  the  Committee  on  Organization,  this  Convention  will  take  a  recess  of 
twenty  minutes. 

A  delegate  proposed  to  extend  the  time  of  the  recess  to  an 
hour. 

Mr.  KELLOGG.  I  will  suggest  that  the  Illinois  delegation  have 
already  agreed  upon  their  men  for  the  Committee  on  Organization. 
I  have  no  objection  to  extend  the  term  of  the  recess  to  one  hour, 
if  that  time  should  be  required ;  but  the  object  in  offering  the  reso- 
lution was  to  expedite  the  permanent  organization ;  and  it  is 
important,  in  view  of  the  business  before  us,  if  we  take  a  recess 
at  this  time,  to  make  it  as  short  as  possible. 

A  DELEGATE.     Say  thirty  minutes,  then. 

Mr.  KELLOGG.  Thirty  minutes  was  what  I  was  about  to  sug- 
gest. 

The  resolution  thus  modified  was  adopted ;  and,  accordingly,  the 
Convention  took  a  recess  of  half  an  hour. 

At  the  expiration  of  the  recess,  the  Convention  was  called  to 
order  by  the  Chairman;  and  the  Secretary,  on  the  part  of  the  seve- 
ral State  delegations,  reported  the  following  Committee  on  Nom- 
inations, required'  by  the  resolution  of  Mr.  Sedgwick,  to  wit: 

COMMITTEE    ON   NOMINATIONS. 

Michigan,  Messrs.  E.  G.  Merrick,  J.  B.  Crippen. 

New  York,  "  John  A.  King,  Geo.  S.  Hazard. 

Kansas,  "  A.  M.  Sawyer,  L.  Houston. 

Missouri,  "  Wayman  Crow,  Chas.  D.  Drake. 

Indiana,  "  Geo.  W.  Julian,  W.  W.  Higgins. 

Vermont,  "  S.  B.  Platt,  Louis  Follett. 

New  Jersey,  "  J.  B.  Sayer,  Joseph  C.  Jackson. 

Minnesota,  "  J.  Z.  Werst,  R.  A.  Mott. 

Rhode  Island,  "  Comfort  Tiffany,  R.  J.  Arnold. 

Massachusetts,  "  D.  L.  Harris,  J.  C.  Converse. 

Maine,  "  Israel  Washburne,  T.  C.  Hersey. 

Connecticut,  "  John  V.  Elton,  Thomas  Porter. 

District  of  Columbia,      "  W.  H.  Lamon. 

Ohio,  "  R.  P.  Spauld  ing,  Theodore  Bissell. 

Wisconsin,  "  H.  L.  Palmer,  M.  M.  Davis. 

Iowa,  "  W.  I.  Gilchrist,  D.  W.  Kilburne. 

Illinois,  "  I.  N.  Arnold,  O.  C.  Skinner. 


11 

Mr.  KELLOGG.  I  am  informed  by  Mr.  Edwards,  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, that  he  is  not  advised  of  any  other  delegate  but  himself  from 
that  State.  I  therefore  move  that  the  Hon.  T.  M.  Edwards,  of 
New  Hampshire,  be  added  to  the  Committee  on  Nominations. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to,  and  Mr.  Edwards  was  placed  on  the 
committee. 

Mr.  FOSTER,  of  Illinois,  proposed  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  Governors  and  ex-Governors  of  States,  Senators  and  ex-Senators 
of  the  United  States,  members  and  ex-members  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Congress,  Presidents  of  Boards  of  Trade  and  Chambers  of  Commerce, 
Presidents  of  Agricultural  Societies,  Mayors  of  cities,  Major  and  Brigadier  Gene- 
rals of  the  United  States  Army,  and  Canal  Commissioners  and  ex-Canal  Commission- 
ers of  the  several  States,  be  respectfully  invited  to  take  seats  upon  the  platform, 
and  that  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  issue  tickets  to  them,  and  to  the  permanent 
officers  of  the  Convention. 

The  resolution  was  adopted. 

Mr.  KING,  of  New  York.  I  understand  that  the  names  of 
the  gentlemen  forming  the  Committee  have  been  announced.  I 
take  the  liberty  of  proposing  that  they  retire  immediately  after  the 
adjournment  of  this  Convention,  and  meet  at  the  Sherman  House, 
where  there  is  a  large  room  for  their  reception.  I  also  make  the 
motion  that  this  Convention  adjourn  till  three  o'clock. 

Mr.  PARTRIDGE,  of  Missouri,  seconded  the  motion. 

Mr.  DRAKE,  of  Missouri,  suggested  that,  previous  to  going  to 
the  Sherman  House,  the  members  of  the  Committee  come  upon  the 
platform,  and  make  themselves  acquainted  with  each  other,  and 
then  proceed  in  a  body  to  the  Sherman  House. 

The  motion  was  carried. 

And  the  Convention  then  adjourned. 


AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

The  temporary  CHAIRMAN  called  the  Convention  to  order  at  three 
o'clock  p.  M.,  and  announced  the  order  of  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Organization. 

Mr.  KING.     The  Committee  appointed  by  the  Convention  to 
present  the  names  of  officers,  beg  leave  to  report : 
• 

TOR    PRESIDENT. 

Hon.  Hannibal  Hamlin. 

FOR  VICE   PRESIDENT   AT  LARGE. 

Gen.  Hiram  Walbridge,  of  New  York. 


12 


FOR   TICK 

Maine, 

New  Hampshire, 
Vermont, 
Massachusetts , 
Rhode  Island^ 
Connecticut, 
New  York) 
New  Jersey ^ 
Ohio, 
Indianat 
Illinois) 
Michigan) 
Wisconsin) 
Minnesota) 
Iowa, 
Missouri) 
Kansas) 
District  of  Columbia, 


PRESIDENTS. 


Mr.  Jedediah  Jewett. 

"  T.  M.  Edwards. 

"  Lewis  Follett. 

"  Lorenzo  Sabine. 

"  R.  J.  Arnold. 

"  Calvin  Day. 

"  Erastus  Corning. 

"  Marcus  L.  Ward. 

"  M.  D.  Scott. 

"  George  W.  Julian. 

"  Joseph  W.  Singleton. 

"  A.  E.  Bissell. 

"  Levi  Blossom. 

"  James  M.  Taylor. 

"  Ebenezer  Cook. 

"  George  Partridge. 

"  Marcus  J.  Parrott. 

"  Peter  Parker. 


FOR   SECRKTART   AT   LARGE. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Foster,  of  Illinois. 


FOR  SECRETARIES. 


Maine,  Mr. 

New  Hampshire,  " 

Vermont)  " 

Massachusetts)  " 

Rhode  Island)  " 

Connecticut)  " 

New  York)  " 

New  Jersey)  " 

Ohio,  " 

Indiana)  " 

Illinois,  " 

Michigan,  " 

Wisconsin)  " 

Minnesota,  " 

Iowa,  " 

Kansas )  " 
District  of  Columbia,     " 


Jonas  H.  Perley. 
Wm.  E.  Chandler. 
L.  B.  Platt. 
D.  L.  Harris. 
Comfort  Tiffany. 
S.  S.  Gold. 
S.  M.  Chamberlain. 
B.  M.  Price. 
Mr.  John  E.  Cary. 
Mr.  A.  E.  Drapier. 
Chas.  H.  Lanphier. 
Benj.  Follett. 
Moses  M.  Strong. 
R.  A.  Mott.  ( 

J.  W.  Van  Oman. 
D.  W.  Wilder. 
F.  A.  Stringer. 


13 

Mr.  KING  continued.  This,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  one  part  of  the 
report  of  your  Committee.  I  will  submit  the  other  part — that  with 
reference  to  order  of  business  and  rules — after  this  shall  have  been 
disposed  of. 

The  nominations  of  officers  submitted  by  the  Committee  were 
then  unanimously  agreed  to. 

The  temporary  CHAIRMAN  requested  Brig.  Gen.  WILLIAM  T. 
STRONG  and  the  Hon.  WILLIAM  E.  ARMSTRONG  to  conduct  Mr. 
HAMLIN,  the  President  elect  of  the  Convention,  to  the  chair. 

SPEECH    OF    HON.    HANNIBAL   HAMLIN. 

The  Hon.  HANNIBAL  HAMLIN,  delegate  from  the  State  of  Maine, 
and  Vice  President  of  the  United  States,  in  taking  the  chair,  spoke 
as  follows: 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention: — I  tender  to  you  my  cordial  thanks 
for  this  expression  of  your  confidence  and  respect,  in  selecting  me 
to  preside  over  your  deliberations.  Relying  upon  your  courtesy 
and  your  co-operation,  I  assume  the  responsibilities  which  you  have 
devolved  upon  me. 

You  have  met,  Gentlemen,  at  a  period  of  time  remarkable  in  the 
history  of  our  country.  Obedient  to  the  call  of  prominent  citizens 
in  different  sections  of  the  Union,  you  have  come  together,  in  this 
marvel  of  a  city,  that  sits  like  a  queen  on  the  borders  of  this  mighty 
Lake,  to  deliberate  on  questions  that  are  almost  as  important  as  the 
existence  of  the  Government  under  which  you  live.  And  there  is 
one  fact  that  challenges  our  observation,  and  justifies  a  remark. 
At  a  time  when  war  with  its  red  wave  is  deluging  our  land,  and  whea 
brave,  noble  hearts,  and  strong  arms  have  gone  forth  to  defend  the 
integrity  of  the  common  country,  and  to  perpetuate  the  national 
existence,  this  vast  concourse  of  people  has  assembled,  representing 
all  the  varied  interests  of  the  broad  land.  That  fact  speaks  a 
language  far  more  significant  than  any  that  I  can  utter.  It  announces 
that  we  are  here  to  prepare  for  the  necessities  of  the  future. 

But  a  few  years  since,  the  people  of  this  mighty,  central  portion 
of  our  country  was  numbered  almost  in  units,  and  its  commercial 
statistics  found  no  place  in  commercial  records.  And  what  do  we 
find  to-day?  Why,  Gentlemen,  you  count  your  commerce  by  the 
half  thousand  of  millions,  and  your  population  by  some  ten  millions. 
The  sagacity  of  that  statesman  of  whom  the  Empire  State  may  well 
be  proud,  and  in  whom  every  American  citizen  has  also  his  pride, 
did  effect  the  opening  up  of  the  then  little  commerce  of  the  lakes 
— small,  as  compared  with  its  present, — and  you  have  come  to-day 
to  imitate  his  example,  and  to  initate  a  policy,  I  trust,  that  shall 
secure  those  works  that  are  commensurate  with  the  demands  of 
to-day.  Let  me  tell  you,  Gentlemen  of  the  Centre,  that  you  have 
no  deeper  interest  in  the  matter,  and  have  no  greater  stimulant  to 
act  on,  than  we  from  the  far  East  have. 


14 

We  have  met  at  a  time  when  we  have  learned,  in  a  variety  of 
ways,  what  are  military  necessities.  You,  as  wise  men,  have  come 
here  to-day  to  prepare  for  the  military  necessities  of  the  future,  if 
any  such  shall  arise.  A  population  on  these  inland  seas,  and  along 
your  mighty  rivers,  lives  with  no  guns  to  protect  their  homes  or 
their  property.  Is  there  not  a  necessity — nay,  have  you  not  a 
right  to  send  up  that  demand  to  the  General  Government  that  must 
be  answered?  You  know,  and  I  know,  that  by  our  treaty  stipula- 
tions we  are  not  allowed  to  maintain  any  armament  on  our  Western 
waters.  You  know,  and  I  know,  that  there  are  channels  of  com- 
munication northward,  by  which  naval  and  military  armaments 
may  be  sent  into  the  northern  lakes  by  Great  Britain,  while  we 
have  no  countervailing  facilities.  And  it  seems  to  me  that  he  who 
looks  at  this  matter  as  a  statesman,  or  he  who  loves  his  country, 
can  hardly  fail  to  come  up  to  the  necessities  of  the  occasion,  and  to 
say  that  he  will  have  those  facilities  which  military  necessities  in 
the  futui-e  may  require.  More  than  that,  when,  added  to  a  military 
necessity  which  leaves  no  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  of  what  you 
propose,  the  measure  opens  new  channels  to  your  commerce,  and 
facilitates  the  transportation  of  your  vast  commerce  to  market, 
then  the  subject  which  has  brought  you  together  is  worthy  of  your 
wisest  consideration.  But  when  you  add  these  two  together — 
military  necessity  and  commercial  facilities — who  is  there  in  all  this 
broad  land  who  will  say,  with  the  lights  that  we  have  before  us, 
in  what  has  already  been  done,  that  our  Government  will  not,  at 
the  appropriate  time  and  to  the  extent  of  its  means,  give  a  helping 
hand  to  open  up  the  vast  resources  of  this  great  country? 

Gentlemen,  I  invite  your  attention  to  the  deliberation  of  the 
questions  that  shall  come  before  you.  I  trust,  as  I  know,  that  you 
will  bring  coolness,  care,  and  candor  to  those  deliberations ;  that 
you  will  rise  above  all  local  interests,  and  come  up  to  the  import- 
ance of  the  occasion.  Do  that,  and  this  shall  be  the  starting  point, 
and  this  the  starting  hour,  in  a  long,  and  great,  and  glorious  career 
of  the  mighty  West.  It  will  give  an  increased  military  strength. 
It  will  add  new  facilities  to  commerce,  and  it  will  bind  us  still 
closer  together  in  harmony,  in  peace,  in  union  and  liberty  forever. 

Mr.  KING,  from  the  Committee  on  Nominations,  etc.,  now  sub- 
mitted the  following 

RULES   OP    THE    CONVENTION". 

1.  The  States,  Territories,  and  the  District  of  Columbia,  shall  be 
called  over;  and  the  delegations,  through  one  of  their  number,  shall 
report  a  written  list  of  the  delegates  in  attendance,  with   their 
respective  residences,  as  far  as  practicable. 

2.  Each  delegation  will  appoint  one  of  its  number  to  respond 
to  the  Chair,  on  casting  the  vote  of  its  State,  Territory,  or  District. 


15 

3.  A  vote  by  States  may  be  called  for  by  any  three  delegates  ; 
and  in  such  case  each  State  shall  give  the  same  number  of  votes  that 
it  is  entitled  to  in  the  Electoral  College,  in  the  election  of  aPresident 
of  the  United  States ;    and  each  Territory,  and  the  District  of 
Columbia,  shall  be  entitled  to  one  vote. 

4.  A  Committee  of  one  from  each  State  shall  be  appointed  by 
the  respective  delegations,  to  prepare  and  report  such  resolutions 
as  they  may  recommend  for  adoption  by  this  Convention ;    and  all 
propositions  and  resolutions  presented  to  this  Convention  shall, 
before  being  acted  upon,  be  referred  to  said  Committee. 

5.  The  Convention  shall  be  governed  in  its  proceedings  by  the 
rules  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Congress,  so  far  as  the 
same  may  be  applicable. 

Mr.  SPAULDING,  of  Ohio.  Before  the  vote  is  taken,  I  would  like 
to  know  if  any  provision  has  been  made  by  the  Committee  in 
regard  to  the  casting  of  the  vote  of  a  State  when  there  is  a  divi- 
sion among  the  delegates  ? 

Mr.  KING,  of  New  York.  There  has  been  no  such  provision 
made ;  we  left  it  to  each  delegation  to  settle  that  question,  and 
to  present  by  majority,  if  it  can,  the  vote  of  the  State. 

Mr.  SFAULDING.  I  move  that  the  report  be  committed  to  the 
Committee,  with  instructions  to  provide  that  the  vote  of  the  State 
shall  be  given  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  members  on  each 
side  of  any  given  question. 

Mr.  WASHBURNE,  of  Illinois.  Mr.  President: — I  desire  merely 
to  make  this  suggestion  touching  the  motion  of  the  gentleman  from 
Ohio:  That,  in  order  to  save  the  time  of  the  Convention,  instead  of 
this  matter  being  recommitted  to  the  Committee,  he  make  his  prop- 
osition in  the  shape  of  a  motion  to  be  decided  by  the  Convention 
here. 

Mr.  SPAULDING.     I  will  withdraw  my  motion. 

The  report  of  the  committee  was  thereupon  concurred  in. 

The  PRESIDENT.  By  the  resolutions  just  adopted,  it  is  pro- 
vided that  the  delegates  from  each  State  shall  appoint  one  person 
to  prepare  and  report  such  resolutions  as  they  may  recommend  for 
adoption  by  this  Convention  ;  and  all  propositions  and  resolutions 
presented  to  this  Convention  shall,  before  being  acted  upon,  be 
referred  to  said  Committee.  The  various  delegations  from  the  States 
will,  therefore,  at  their  earliest  convenience,  report  to  the  Chair 
one  of  their  cumber  to  constitute  said  Committee. 


16 

Mr.  KING.  In  behalf  of  the  Committee  on  Organization,  I  ask 
that  they  may  be  continued  during  the  session  ;  for  matters  may 
arise  which  will  require  all  the  attention  that  they  will  be  able  to 
bestow. 

The  PRESIDENT.  Is  that  the  pleasure  of  the  Convention  ?  It 
is  so  ordered. 

Mr.  BEARDSLEY,  of  Wisconsin.  I  propose  that  the  matter  be 
postponed  till  to-morrow  morning.  There  are  from  the  State  which 
I  represent  at  least  one  hundred  delegates,  and  they  are  scattered 
all  around  this  tent. 

Mr.  MILLER,  of  New  York.     I  move  to  take  a  recess  for  an  hour. 

Mr.  KELLOGG,  of  Illinois.  It  will  be  impossible  to  get  the  Illinois 
delegation  together  in  half  an  hour,  or  three-quarters,  or  an  hour. 
My  friends  are  anxious  that  this  matter  may  be  postponed  ;  and  I 
would  suggest  that  we  have  a  meeting  of  our  delegation,  which  is 
large,  at  eight  o'clock  this  evening,  when  we  propose  to  do  business 
of  that  character.  I  believe  it  will  expedite  business  to  take  abun- 
dant time  to  prepare  such  measures,  and  by  to-morrow  the  delegates 
will  be  prepared  to  act. 

Mr.  SPAULDING.  The  delegates  from  distant  States  would  like 
to  have  this  matter  attended  to  as  expeditiously  as  possible.  Most 
of  the  delegations  have  selected  their  members  for  this  Committee, 
and  surely  the  Illinois  delegation  ought  to  be  prepared  in  as  short 
a  time  as  those  who  come  from  a  distance.  We  desire  to  accom- 
plish our  work  by  to-morrow  afternoon,  and  go  home.  Some  of 
us  must  go  home  at  that  time.  We  desire  that  this  business  should 
be  done  as  expeditiously  as  possible,  so  that  the  Committee  may 
be  enabled  to  report  to-morrow.  I  merely  throw  out  the  suggestion, 
and  hope  the  motion  to  postpone  the  appointment  of  the  Committee 
will  not  prevail. 

Mr.  D.  C.  LITTLEJOHN,  of  New  York.  I  rise  to  support  the  mo- 
tion of  the  gentleman  from  Wisconsin.  I  have  no  doubt  that  many 
members  are  prepared  with  resolutions  which  can  be  disposed  of 
by  reference  to  this  Committee,  which  will  be  announced  in  the  morn- 
ing. It  will  be  impossible  to  convene  all  the  delegates  here  within 
the  next  hour,  and  I  hope,  therefore,  the  motion  of  the  delegate 
from  Wisconsin  may  prevail. 

The  motion  to  postpone  the  announcement  of  the  Committee  on 
Resolutions  till  to-morrow  morning  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  CHAMBERLAIN,   of  Ohio.     The  effect  of  the  measure  just 
carried  will  be  to  prevent  our  getting  a  well-digested  se-t  of  reso- 


lutions.  Our  Committees,  of  course,  cannot  meet  until  to-morrow, 
when  we  have  to  go  home.  I  move  that  the  vote  just  taken  be 
reconsidered. 

A  DELEGATE.     How  did  you  vote  ? 

Mr.  CHAMBERLAIN.  Several  gentlemen  around  me  here  misun- 
derstood the  question,  and  I  ask  that  the  vote  be  taken  again. 

Mr. .  By  the  rules  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  which 

we  have  adopted  for  the  government  of  this  body  so  far  as  applica- 
ble, the  motion  must  be  made  by  one  who  voted  with  the  majority. 

Mr.  ,  of  New  York.  I  will  move  to  reconsider  the  vote 

just  taken. 

The  motion  was  rejected. 

Mr.  .  In  order  to  facilitate  business,  I  would  move  that 

the  Committee  on  Resolutions  meet  at  nine  o'clock  this  evening,  at 
the  Sherman  House. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  CHAMBERLAIN.  Now  we  stand  in  this  light :  "We  have  to 
appoint  a  Committee  to-morrow  to  transact  certain  business,  to  trans- 
act which  it  has  been  called  together  to-night.  That  is  the  action 
of  the  Convention,  if  I  understand  it.  We  cannot  do  anything 
until  we  are  properly  organized,  and  we  are  restricted  from  organi- 
zation by  this  resolution. 

Mr.  VILAS,  of  Wisconsin.  The  gentleman  mistakes  the  position 
of  the  question,  I  apprehend.  I  understand  that  the  several  State 
delegates  make  the  appointment  of  this  Committee,  and  that  Com- 
mittee will  be  reported  to  the  Convention  to-morrow  morning. 
But  this  Committee  can  meet  to-night  at  nine  o'clock,  because  this 
Convention  has  no  power  to  reject  or  confirm  it.  I  see  no  diffi- 
culty then. 

Mr.  STRONG,  of  Missouri.  That  there  may  be  no  misunder- 
standing in  this  part  of  the  assembly,  in  reference  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  this  Committee,  I  wish  to  call  attention  to  the  time  when 
the  several  delegations  should  act,  and  when  the  Committee  should 
act.  It  seems  to  me  a  matter  perfectly  plain.  The  delegates  can 
come  together  immediately  upon  the  adjournment  of  this  Conven- 
tion, and  appoint  persons  to  act  upon  this  Committee ;  then  this 
Committee,  thus  appointed,  by  meeting  at  nine  o'clock  to-night,  can 
be  prepared  to  report  to  the  Convention  in  the  morning.  The 
resolution,  which  the  gentleman  on  my  right  refers  to,  was  the  reso- 
lution not  requiring  the  delegations  to  report  the  names  of  the 
2 


18 

members  of  this  committee  to-night — giving  them  time  till  to-mor- 
row morning  to  do  that. 

Mr.  Ross,  of  Wisconsin.     I  move  that  when  this  Convention 
adjourn,  it  be  till  nine  o'clock  to-morrow  morning. 
The  motion  was  agreed  to. 
Mr.  Ross.     I  now  move  to  adjourn. 
The  motion  was  rejected. 

Mr.  COWAN,  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  I  move  that  Martin 
Bishop,  of  Lafayette,  Indiana,  be  admitted  as  a  member  of  this 
Convention. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  TAYLOR,  of  Minnesota.  The  call  under  which  this  Conven- 
tion assembled,  I  believe,  has  not  been  read  to  the  Convention.  I 
would  respectfully  ask  that  the  original  call  of  the  Convention  be 
now  read. 

The  call  was  thereupon  read  by  the  Secretary. 
Mr.  TAYLOR  inquired  if 'a  resolution  was  in  order? 
The  PRESIDENT  said  that  it  was  in  order. 

Mr.  TAYLOR.     The  rule,  passed  here  to-day,  requires  that  resolu- 
tions shall  be  referred  to  the  Committee  before  they  are  acted  upon. 
I  ask  whether  a  resolution  introduced  here  can  properly  be  debated 
without  that  reference  first  being  made. 
The  PRESIDENT.     I  think  not. 

Mr.  SPAULDING.  As  resolutions  are  in  order,  I  will  propose  a 
resolution  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  subject  of  a  ship-canal  around  the  Falls  of  Niagara  is  one 
that  pre-eminently  demands  the  consideration  of  this  Convention. 

Mr.  KEVINS.     I  move  that  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee. 

Mr.  SPAULDING.  I  move  that  the  resolution,  after  being  read, 
be  laid  upon  the  table  until  the  Committee  is  appointed. 

The  PRESIDENT.  It  is  the  impression  of  the  Chair  that  the  only 
action  that  can  be  taken,  is  to  receive  the  resolution  and  lay  it 
upon  the  table ;  and,  when  the  Committee  shall  have  been  announced 
to  the  Convention,  refer  it,  without  debate,  to  that  Committee. 

Mr.  SPAULDING.  I  do  not,  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings, 
take  any  exceptions  to  the  ruling  of  the  Chair,  but  I  desire  to  say 
that  I  will  not  consider  myeelf  precluded  from  afterwards  doing 
so ;  for,  in  the  Committee  it  was  understood  that  the  resolutions 
might  be  debated. 

Mr.  TAYLOR.  I  propose  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolu- 
tion: 


19 

Resolved,  That  the  construction  of  aNorthern,  a  Central,  and  a  Southern  railroad 
from  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  is  properly  a  subject  of  national 
cognizance ;  but  the  enlargement  of  canals  within  the  limits  of  States  east  of  the 
Mississippi  River  is  properly  the  subject  of  cognizance  by  the  States  only. 

The  resolution  was  laid  upon  the  table. 

A  DELEGATE  from  Iowa.  I  move  that  the  remainder  of  the  after- 
noon be  devoted  to  hearing  addresses  from  distinguished  persons 
present. 

The  motion  was  carried,  whereupon 

Gen.  WALBRIDGE,  of  New  York,  being  loudly  called  for,  came 
forward  and  spoke  as  follows : 

I  shall  not  suffer  even  your  partiality,  or  the  kind  presentation 
of  the  President,  to  cause  me  to  obtrude  myself  upon  your  indul- 
gence, for  this  simple  reason  :  This  Convention  was  drawn  toge- 
ther for  a  practical  purpose,  and  the  men  composing  it  have  come 
thousands  of  miles  to  accomplish  a  specific  object.  I  cannot,  there- 
fore, speak  on  any  other  question,  except  the  great  question  which 
concerns  us  all;  that  is,  for  opening  the  line  of  communication 
between  the  East  and  the  West,  which  I  want  you  to  accomplish 
by  practical  resolutions.  This  is  not  a  meeting  then,  for  any  other 
than  a  practical  purpose;  and,  while  I  should  be  pleased  to  listen 
to  the  addresses  of  other  gentlemen  present,  and  to  address  you 
myself,  I  do  not,  in  accordance  with  my  convictions  of  propriety, 
think  proper  to  absorb  your  time.  Nevertheless,  since  all  practi- 
cal questions,  tending  to  the  opening  of  communication  between 
the  East  and  the  West  are  deferred  till  to-morrow  morning,  I  will 
bring  your  attention  to  the  considerations  that  are  involved  in  the 
great  struggle  that  is  now  going  on,  in  behalf  of  constitutional 
government,  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States ;  and,  if  any 
man  exists,  who  doubts  as  to  what  will  be  the  final  termination  of 
that  struggle,  let  him  calculate  what  are  the  elements  in  the  re- 
spective forces  that  are  engaged,  and  then  he  will  have  no  difficulty 
in  arriving  at  a  triumphant  result.  It  is  not  that  we  have  a  popu- 
lation of  twenty  millions  to  their  six,  who  act  with  a  concentrated 
energy  worthy  of  a  better  cause,  but  this  disparity  of  numbers 
must  eventuate  in  giving  us  the  ultimate  triumph.  But  there  are 
other  things  besides ;  they  represent  an  article  of  clothing,  that  is, 
cotton,  and  to  surrender  cotton,  is  an  inconvenience  to  us ;  we 
represent  corn,  and  to  surrender  that,  is  to  surenderlife  itself.  If 
I  was  simply  speaking  to  Chicago,  I  should  say  that  while  corn  is 
king,  Chicago  is  its  chosen  throne. 

Mr.  President,  and  Gentlemen,  I  find  myself  beguiled  beyond 
what  I  intended.  If  this  meeting  was  for  the  practical  object  of 
constructing  a  line  of  communication  by  large  internal  canals,  be- 
tween the  Mississippi  river  and  the  Atlantic  coast  for  commercial 
purposes,  the  General  Government  has  no  right  to  do  it;  but  if  it 
be  for  military  purposes,  it  is  their  imperative  and  bounden  duty, 
and  as  such,  I  shall  advocate  this  measure. 


20 

Gentlemen,  there  is  one  feature  that  marks  this  struggle  in  which 
we  are  engaged, — the  constantly-repeated  intimations  of  foreign 
powers  that  they  will  interfere  before  it  is  over, — intimations  that 
are  given,  because  they  desire  to  see  this  government  dismembered. 
But  when  you  shall  have  opened  this  line  of  communication,  by  which 
your  corn  can  be  placed  in  the  markets  of  Europe,  you  have  a  guar- 
anty for  perpetual  peace.  You  will  have  accomplished  more  than 
Ministers,  and  Presidents,  and  Vice  Presidents,  have  the  power  to 
accomplish ;  because,  Gentlemen,  population  is  contingent  upon 
the  means  for  its  support,  and  so  long  as  you  control  those  elements 
which  feed  the  people,  you  control  their  destinies.  Therefore,  when 
this  great  West,  when  this  State  of  Illinois,  not  yet  populated,  and 
capable  of  augmenting  her  population  tenfold, — when  all  this  vast 
region,  stretching  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  shall  have  become  filled 
with  an  industrious  population,  rallying  beneath  the  old  flag  that 
covered  our  Fathers  of  the  Revolution, — when  we  shall  have 
reached  that  period, you  will  supply  food,notonly  to  this  continent, 
not  only  to  Europe,  but  to  that  far  distant  land  beyond  the  Ganges, 
which  opens  that  great  Oriental  trade  which  has  enriched  every 
people  who  have  engaged  in  it.  It  is  to  be  brought  across  this 
continent  by  means  which  you  have  this  day  thought  fit  to  originate. 

Mr.  DRAKE,  of  St.  Louis,  was  next  called  for. 

The  PRESIDENT.  I  take  pleasure  in  presenting  to  you  a  friend 
from  that  honorable  State  of  the  West,  that  bright  star  which  shall 
shine  brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  perfect  day.  Mr.  Drake,  of 
St.  Louis. 

Mr.  DRAKE  spoke  as  follows : 

Mr.  President :  On  behalf  of  that  noble  city  which  I  have  the 
honor  here  to  represent,  I  thank  you,  Sir,  for  the  testimony  which 
you  have  borne  to  her  noble  and  genuine  loyalty.  One  myself,  of 
a  population  of  probably  one  hundred  and  three-score  thousand,  I 
feel,  Sir,  that  I  can  give  credit  to  St.  Louis  for  her  loyalty,  without 
assuming  to  myself  any  vanity.  When  you  reflect  on  all  the  cir- 
cumstances which  have  surrounded  St.  Louis,  from  the  day  that 
the  traitor  Governor  of  Missouri  was  inaugurated  in  January,  1861, 
to  the  present  time, — if  you  could  only,  my  friends,  know  them  as 
we  who  have  lived  there  have  known  them, — you  would  say  with 
me  that  no  city  in  this  land  deserves  higher  praise  for  the  loyalty 
of  ker  people  than  St.  Louis.  But,  Sir,  St.  Louis,  in  my  person  at 
this. moment,  in  her  delegation  which  occupy  seats  in  your  midst, 
greets  you  patriots  of  the  land  in  this  assembly,  convened  under 
circumstances  such  as  have  probably  not  been  known  in  the  world's 
history  before.  With  you,  and  with  all,  to  whom  that  venerable 
flag  is  dear  throughout  this  land,  St.  Louis  extends  the  arms  of 
greeting  and  affection,  desiring  to  live  with  you,  and  to  die  with 
you,  under  its  resplendent  folds.  Under  circumstances  which  have 
brought  this  body  together,  on  the  margin  of  this  fair  lake,  in  this 


21 

queen  city  of  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  one  part  of  this 
nation  is  covered  with  blood,  in  a  conflict  for  the  nation's  life. 
Another  part  is  assembled  here,  by  its  representative  men,  to  con- 
sider measures  which  shall  make  for  the  present  an  enduring  pros- 
perity, in  peace,  or  in  war,  a  mighty  advantage.  Take  any 
other  nation  upon  earth,  and  no  such  thing  is  possible ;  no  other 
people  can  fight  the  battle  we  fight,  with  one  hand ;  and,  with  the 
other,  scatter  over  the  earth  the  blessings  of  life.  If  I  had  never 
been  proud  of  America  before,  I  should  be  proud  of  her  now,  and 
so  should  you.  We  have  a  right  to  be  proud  of  that,  which  enno- 
bles and  glorifies  us  as  a  people.  We  have  a  right  to  be  proud  of 
this  glorious  Valley,  which,  from  these  points  below,  sheds  its 
waters  over  Niagara ;  and  of  that  other  glorious  Valley,  which,  rich 
and  fertile  in  the  North,  casts  its  treasures  of  living  waters  beneath 
the  sun  of  the  tropics.  We  have  a  right  to  be  proud  of  all  that 
dignifies  and  elevates  us  as  a  people  ;  gives  us  power  at  home,  and 
consideration  abroad;  and  amid  all  the  developments  that  are  cal- 
culated to  produce  these  results,  nothing,  probably,  in  our  history, 
has  yet  exceeded  the  developments  of  this  day. 

The  speaker  then  proceeded  to  speak  on  the  topics  of  the  day  ; 
and,  as  his  remarks  did  not  immediately  bear  upon  the  objects  em- 
braced in  the  call  of  the  Convention,  they  are  omitted. 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  remarks,  on  motion  of  Mr.  RUGGLES,  of 
New  York,  the  Convention  adjourned  until  ten  o'clock  A.  M.  of 
the  following  day. 


WEDNESDAY,  JUNE  3,  1863. 

At  ten  o'clock,  the  PRESIDENT  took  the  Chair,  and  announced : 
The  hour  to  which  this  Convention  adjourned  having  arrived,  you 
will  come  to  order.  I  have  the  pleasure  to  introduce  the  Rev.  Dr. 
CLARKSON,  of  Chicago,  who  will  open  the  proceedings  with  prayer. 

PRAYER. 

We  praise  thee,  O  God ;  We  acknowledge  thee  to  be  the 
Lord.  All  the  earth  doth  worship  thee,  the  Father  Almighty. 
Heaven  and  Earth  are  full  of  the  Majesty  of  thy  Glory.  Day  by 
day  we  magnify  thee ;  and  we  worship  thy  name  ever,  world 
without  end. 

O  Lord  God  of  Hosts;  Let  thy  blessing  rest  upon  this  people 
who  are  assembled  here  before  thee.  Direct  them  this  day,  and 
always,  in  all  their  deliberations,  with  thy  most  gracious  favor, 
and  further  them  with  thy  continual  aid;  that  in  all  things,  begun 
and  ended  in  thee,  they  may  glorify  thy  Holy  name.  Prosper 
their  consultations  to  the  advancement  of  thy  honor  ;  and  to  the 
safety  and  welfare  of  this  great  nation;  so  that  truth  and  peace, 
religion  and  piety,  may  be  established  among  us  for  all  generations. 


22 

Oh  Lord  God  Almighty,  of  thine  infinite  power  we  beseech 
thee  to  heal  the  desolations,  and  assuage  the  calamities  of  war ; 
and  restore,  we  pray  thee,  the  broken  unity  of  this  suffering  people, 
and  hasten  the  coming  of  that  blessed  time,  when  liberty  and 
righteousness  shall  reign  supreme  on  all  the  earth.  All  which  we 
ask  in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  Christ  Jesus,  our  Lord  and 
Saviour.  Amen. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  SECRETARY  will  read  the  list  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Resolutions;  which  was  as  follows  :  •  / 

Missouri,  Mr.  Henry  Hitchcock. 

Kansas,  "  J.  C.  Trask. 

Wisconsin,  "  Orsemus  Cole. 

Maine,  "  John  Lynch. 

New  York,  "  Samuel  B.  Ruggles. 

District  of  Columbia,    "  Peter  Parker. 

Michigan,  "  Alexander  Lewis. 

Minnesota,  "  J.  W.  Taylor. 

loica,  "  Richard  B.  Hill. 

Illinois,  "  William  Kellogg. 

Ohio,  "  A.  G.  Riddle. 

Connecticut,  "  Samuel  Gold. 

Massachusetts,  "  William  Hilton. 

New  Hampshire,  "  Thos.  M.  Edwards. 

New  Jersey,  "  Joseph  C.  Jackson. 

Indiana,  "  G.  W.  Julian. 

Rhode  Island,  "  R.  J.  Arnold. 

Mr.  SPAULDING,  of  Ohio,  moved  to  take  from  the  table  the  reso- 
lution which  he  offered  yesterday,  for  the  purpose  of  offering  a 
substitute. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  SPAULDESTG  then  moved  as  a  substitute,  the  following  pre- 
amble and  resolutions,  which  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Resolutions : 

WHEREAS  ;  It  has  been  ascertained  by  a  careful  survey  and  estimate,  made  by 
Capt.  W.  G.  Williams,  of  the  United  States  army,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Topographical  Bureau  of  the  General  Government,  that  a  ship-canal  on  the  Amer- 
ican side,  between  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  to  pass  vessels  of  from  1,200  to  1,500 
tons  burthen,  can  be  constructed  on  a  line  of  from  seven  to  fourteen  miles  in  length, 
and  at  a  cost  of  from  two  and  a  half,  to  five  millions  of  dollars,  depending  upon 
the  line  adopted  ;  and 

WHEREAS  ;  The  construction  of  such  a  canal  is  demanded  by  the  entire  Northern 
frontier,  as  a  military  defense ;  admitting,  as  it  will,  the  passage  of  gunboats  of  a 
capacity  equal  to  any  that  can  be  put  upon  Lake  Ontario  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment, through  her  already  constructed  St.  Lawrence  canal ;  and 


23 

WHKREAS  ;  Through  such  a  canal,  admitting,  as  it  will,  the  free  lake-navigation 
of  steamers  and  vessels  of  a  large  class,  the  products  of  the  Great  West  can, 
cheaper  than  by  any  other  channel,  be  poured  out  on  the  Atlantic  coast  for  distribu- 
tion to  the  markets  of  the  world  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  recommend,  in  connection  with  other  measures, 
the  immediate  construction  of  a  ship-canal  around  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  as  a  Gov- 
ernment work,  and  at -the  national  expense.  (Appendix,  C.) 

Mr.  FOSTER,  of  Illinois,  submitted,  on  behalf  of  the  Board  of 
Trade,  the  Mercantile  Association,  and  the  citizens  of  Chicago,  a 
report  as  to  the  necessity  of  a  ship-canal  between  the  Mississippi 
river  and  the  Atlantic,  and  proposing  the  following  measures : 

First;  To  improve,  under  the  authority  of  the  General  Govern- 
ment, by  slack-water  navigation,  the  Illinois  and  Des-Plaines 
rivers,  by  constructing  a  series  of  locks  and  dams,  75  feet  in  breadth 
by  350  in  length,  and  7  feet  in  depth  ;  and  to  enlarge  the  present 
Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  to  a  like  capacity  ;  so  as  to  admit  the 
passage  of  gunboats,  and  the  largest  class  of  steamers  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi to  the  Lakes,  and  vice  versa. 

Second;  To  enlarge,  under  the  same  authority,  the  locks  of  the 
Erie  and  Oswego  canals  of  New  York,  to  such  dimensions  as  to 
pass  iron-clad  gunboats  25  feet  wide  and  200  feet  long,  and  drawing 
not  less  than  6  feet  6  inches  of  water ;  by  which  twin  improvements 
gunboats  may  be  passed,  by  an  interior  route,  from  New  Orleans  to 
Chicago,  Buffalo,  Oswego,  New  York,  Norfolk,  Richmond  and 
Beaufort,  a  distance  of  4,300  miles ;  besides  placing  under  the 
control  of  the  naval  power  of  the  Government,  the  whole  nav- 
igable system  of  the  Lakes,  and  the  Mississippi. 

As  auxiliary  to,  and  as  forming  a  part  of  the  report,  Mr.  FOSTER 
also  submitted  a  special  report  of  the  survey  of  the  Illinois  and 
Des-Plaines  rivers,  executed  by  Messrs.  Gooding  and  Preston, 
engineers  of  the  highest  capacity;  and  asked  that  it  be  referred  to  a 
Special  Committee  of  five,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Chair,  and  to  be 
composed  of  engineers  eminent  in  their  profession,  who  are  to  be 
required  to  report  to  the  Convention  as  to  the  practicability  of  the 
work,  and  the  correctness  of  the  estimates.  (Appendix,  A.  and  B.) 

The  reports  and  estimates  were,  under  the  rule,  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  RUGGLES,  of  New  York,  reported  from  the  Committee  on 
Resolutions,  the  following  resolution  submitted  by  the  delegates 
from  the  District  of  Columbia,  with  a  recommendation  that  it  be 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  no  subject  or  resolve  not  clearly  germain  to  the  objects  for  which 
this  Convention  has  been  called,  shall  be  admitted  or  discussed  during  the  sessions 
of  the  same. 


24 

Mr.  LITTLEJOHN,  of  New  York,  inquired  whether  it  was  the 
object  of  the  Convention,  in  reporting  this  resolution,  to  declare 
discussion  in  reference  to  the  Niagara  ship-canal  out  of  order  ? 

Mr.  RUGGLES,  of  New  York,  replied  in  the  negative,  stating  that 
such  an  idea  was  not  thought  of. 

Mr.  LITTLEJOHN  wished  it  to  be  fully  understood  by  the  Conven- 
tion, that  no  such  technical  construction  was  to  be  given  to  the 
resolution. 

Mr.  RUGGLES  assured  his  colleague  that  the  Committee  stood  on 
no  technical  points.  The  Committee  had  no  wish  to  exclude  dis- 
cussion on  the  subject  of  the  Niagara  ship-canal. 

Mr.  LITTLEJOHN  explained  his  meaning.  The  call  of  the  Con- 
vention referred  to  the  enlargement  of  canals.  The  Niagara  ship- 
canal  project  involved  the  construction  of  a  new  canal ;  and  was 
not,  therefore,  an  enlargement — so  that  a  technical  objection  might, 
under  the  resolution,  exclude  that  subject  Under  the  explanation 
of  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  he  was  quite  content. 

Mr.  RUGGLES  stated  that  the  resolution  had  been  brought  forward 
by  the  delegation  from  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  its  principal 
object  was  to  exclude  political  discussions,  which  were  at  this  time 
thought  unnecessary. 

The  question  was  taken,  and  the  resolution  was  adopted. 

Mr.  RUGGLES,  of  New  York,  from  the  Committee  on  Resolutions, 
reported  back  the  following  resolution,  offered  by  Mr.  Taylor,  of 
Minnesota : 

Resolved,  That  the  construction  of  a  Northern,  a  Central,  and  a  Southern  railroad, 
from  the  Mississippi  river  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  is  properly  a  subject  of  national 
cognizance ;  but  the  enlargement  of  canals,  within  the  limits  of  States,  between 
the  Mississippi  river  and  the  Atlantic  ocean,  is  properly  a  subject  of  State  cogni- 
zance alone. 

He  stated  that  the  resolution  had  been  considered  by  the  Com- 
mittee, and  that  he  was  instructed  to  make  the  following  report : 

"  The  Committee  on  Resolutions,  to  whom  was  submitted  the 
subjoined  resolution,. report  that,  in  their  opinion,  it  ought  not  to  be 
passed  by  the  Convention." 

Mr.  WASHBURNE,  of  Illinois,  moved  to  lay  the  report  and  resolu- 
tion on  the  table. 

Mr.  TAYLOR,  of  Minnesota,  asked  the  delegate  from  Illinois  to 
withdraw  the  motion  for  a  moment,  that  he  might  make  an  explana- 
tion. 

Mr.  WASHBURNE,  of  Illinois,  withdrew  the  motion. 

Mr.  TAYLOR  then  spoke  as  follows : 


25 

The  most  potential  argument,  Mr.  President,  in  favor  of  the  reso- 
lution, which  has  not  been  so  fortunate  as  to  receive  the  sanction 
of  your  Committee,  is  visible  in  the  spot,  and  in  the  scenes,  and  the 
associations  where  we  stand,  and  by  which  we  are  surrounded. 
What  is  Chicago  at  this  moment  ? 

What  is  the  great  physical,  commercial,  and  cosmopolitan  problem 
here  presented  for  our  consideration  ?  It  is  the  marriage  of  land 
and  water.  It  is  the  marriage  of  the  iron-rail  to  the  great  water- 
communication  of  this  Mediterranean  of  the  continent.  Chicago 
stands  to-day  the  apparent  queen  of  all  these  Great  Lakes ;  because 
here,  within  the  sound  of  this  Convention,  converge  twelve  lines 
of  railway,  the  highest  triumph  of  modern  civilization.  And  it 
is  the  transhipment  of  the  products  of  the  people  westward  of  the 
Lakes,  penetrated,  and  reached,  and  developed,  by  these  twelve  lines 
of  railway,  that  has  given  to  these  Great  Lakes  a  commerce  which 
is  at  this  moment  greater  than  all  the  external  commerce  of  the 
United  States;  and  which  has  made  the  question  of  ship-canals,  and 
of  every  possible  auxiliary  by  canals,  to  this  great  water-channel, 
the  vital  question  of  the  hour. 

And  now,  Sir,  in  behalf  of  a  western  State,  of  a  frontier  State, — 
of  a  State  reeking  with  Indian  massacres,  with  the  scenes  which 
sixty  years  ago  only,  were  enacted  on  the  very  spot  where  we  stand 
to-day, — I  simply  ask  the  citizens  of  those  States  to  consider  well 
the  questions,  whether  the  enlargement  of  the  canals  eastward  to 
the  sea-board;  whether  the  construction  of  a  ship-canal  around  the 
Falls  of  Niagara ;  whether  any  and  all  means  further  to  organize 
and  develop  this  great  internal  commerce,  will  not  be  better 
advanced,  will  not  be  more  surely  secured,  by  planting  ourselves,  as 
a  great  nation,  on  the  idea  of  Pacific  extension,  of  railway  exten- 
sion westward  from  the  margin  of  the  Mississippi  river,  on  the 
broadest  national  scale,  to  the  Pacific  coast ;  and  whether  by  keep- 
ing singly  before  us,  and  presenting  singly  to  the  American  people, 
that  great,  broad,  fundamental  idea,  you  will  not  do  far  more  to 
advance  these  great  interests,  than  by  frittering  away  your  strength 
upon  an  indefinite  series  of  canal-projects  within  States,  which  are 
amply  competent  to  establish  and  effect  them  for  themselves. 

I  may  be  reminded  here,  as  I  have  been  reminded  in  the  Com- 
mittee, that  the  Pacific  Railroad  question  is  settled  by  the  action 
of  a  dismembered  Congress.  I  deny  it  I  deny  that  the  construc- 
tion of  a  railway  from  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  whatever  may  be  its 
collateral  termini,  to  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  is  the  solution  of 
this  great  national  question.  By  no  means,  Sir.  It  is  but  a  partial 
solution.  It  is  but  the  beginning  of  the  end.  It  is  but  the  entering 
wedge  of  the  great  question.  It  is  the  anticipation  and  determina- 
tion of  the  American  people,  that  it  shall  be  settled,  and  re-estab- 
lished, on  a  foundation  as  broad  as  our  glorious  nationality.  I  look 
to  that  great  river  of  the  West  beyond  you.  I  see  a  railway  pro- 
jected from  the  mouths  of  the  Ohio  and  Missouri  rivers  to  the  bay 
of  San  Francisco.  I  float  down  that  mighty  Amazon  of  the  North, 
past  the  frowning  batteries  of  Vicksburg,  over  which  our  glorious 


26 

flag  is  soon  to  wave  in  triumph ;  past  every  mere  temporary  dem- 
onstration of  treason  against  this  glorious  Republic,  to  that  mighty 
city  at  the  mouth  of  that  river, — to  that  great  crescent  metropolis 
of  the  Gulf, — to  that  city  over  which  once  the  iron  will  of  a  Jackson 
predominated  for  the  benefit  of  the  country,  against  an  invading 
enemy,  and  where  the  iron  will  of  a  Massachusetts  Butler  again 
restored  peace.  I  say  in  behalf  of  the  North; — •!  say  in  behalf  of  the 
bleeding  South, — of  the  trampled,  outraged  Union  sentiment  of  the 
South, — that  when  this  Government  is  restored,  when  the  flag  of  the 
Union  once  more  asserts  its  supremacy  over  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  land, — Chicago  will  be  the  first,  Illinois  will  be  the  first,  all 
the  North- West  and  all  the  North-East — New  England  joining 
nands  with  us — to  say,  that  what  the  Legislature  of  1862  enacted, 
on  behalf  of  the  great  central  line  of  Middle  States,  the  measure 
of  a  railway  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  from  St.  Louis  to  San  Francisco, 
— is  not  and  shall  not  be  the  ultimatum  of  that  question ;  but,  when 
the  erring  and  outraged  sons  of  the  South  return  to  their  allegiance, 
and  again  join  hands  with  us,  to  support  forever  this  glorious  Com- 
monwealth ;  then,  a  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  from  New  Orleans 
to  San  Diego,  will  be  a  measure  of  peace,  of  conciliation,  and  of 
national  unity,  which  the  North-East  and  the  North- West  will 
cordially  and  fraternally  join  hands  in  establishing. 

For,  I  do  not  for  one  share  the  sentiment,  that  we  are  to  take 
advantage,  for  any  mere  local  or  material  purpose,  for  any  mere 
question  of  canals  or  internal  improvements,  of  the  enforced  absence 
from  the  halls  .of  Congress  at  Washington  of  the  true  men  of  the 
South,  who  are  now  the  victims  of  the  worst  despotism  that 
ever  defaced  God's  footstool.  I  want  the  Southern  States  repre- 
sented there.  I  want,  when  the  power  of  the  Government  is  again 
asserted  as,  in  God's  good  time  and  pleasure,  it  will  be,  the  men 
of  the  South,  like  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  to  have  seats  on 
the  floor  of  Congress.  I  want  the  brave,  true-hearted  men  of  East 
Tennessee,  the  true,  loyal  element  of  Northern  Alabama,  of  North- 
ern Georgia,  of  Western  North  Carolina,  of  Louisiana,  and  of  Texas, 
to  be  represented  there. 

Feeling  confidence,  as  I  do,  in  the  progress  of  the  West,  in  its 
power  present  and  power  to  come,  I  am  in  no  eager  haste  to  force 
conclusions  on  these  questions.  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  bide  the 
time  of  the  restoration  of  the  Government,  when  we  shall  again 
meet  in  fraternal  council  to  settle  these  great  questions  of  internal 
improvement. 

Mr.  Taylor  proceeded,  at  considerable  length  to  elucidate  his 
views  on  the  Pacific  railroad  question,  and  on  the  canal  question, 
contending  that  while  the  former  was  a  proper  subject  for  national 
cognizance,  the  latter  was  a  proper  subject  for  State  cognizance 
only  ;  that  Illinois,  with  her  great  wealth  and  resources,  should  not 
stand,  like  a  pitiful  mendicant,  asking  Congress  to  do  what  she 


27 

should  do  for  herself;  and  that  New  York  should  not  be  here  in 
support  of  that  contemptible  effort. 

Mr.  WASHBTJRNE,  of  Illinois,  responded. 

MR.  PRESIDENT  :  As  I  moved  that  the  resolution  of  the  last 
speaker  should  be  laid  upon  the  table  ;  I  desire,  now  that  the  gen- 
tleman has  been  heard,  to  say  one  word  as  to  the  reasons  which 
induced  me  to  make  that  motion.  This  Convention  has  met  here 
in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  most  stupendous  wars  of  which  history 
makes  mention,  at  a  time  when  the  nation  is  struggling  for  its  ex- 
istence; when  the  hearts  of  the  people  are  wrung  with  anxiety  and 
anguish ;  when  all  the  loyal  States  have  sent  here  their  most  emi- 
nent and  distinguished  representatives  to  consult  and  deliberate 
on  the  common  defense  and  general  welfare  ;  and  I  thought  it  out 
of  place  that  a  resolution  should  be  introduced  here,  on  the  very 
threshold  of  the  proceedings,  which  would  nullify  everything  that 
we  might  undertake. 

I  therefore  made  what  I  conceived  to  be  the  appropriate  motion, 
— to  lay  the  resolution  summarily  on  the  table.  I  withdrew  that 
motion  out  of  courtesy  to  the  mover  of  the  resolution,  that  he 
might  be  heard  in  its  defense.  He  has  been  heard,  and  the  Con- 
vention can  determine  on  the  weight  of  his  arguments.  What  are 
they  ?  He  travels  off  on  the  question  of  building  a  Pacific  rail- 
road, apparently  forgetting  that  the  same  power  which  we  shall 
ask  to  open  up  this  water-communication  from  the  Mississippi  to 
the  Atlantic,  has  already  made  the  most  ample  and  stupendous 
grants  to  accomplish  the  very  object,  which  the  gentleman  seems 
to  have  so  much  at  heart.  I  do  not  believe,  Mr.  President,  that 
we  travel  that  way  at  this  time.  The  people  of  Minnesota  have 
the  same  interest,  which  the  people  of  the  entire  North-West  have, 
in  the  great  measure  which  this  Convention  proposes  to  consider. 
That  gem  of  a  State  of  the  North -West,  with  its  genial  skies  and 
fertile  soil,  with  its  enterprising  and  industrious  population,  is 
identified  with  her  sister  States  of  the  North-West.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve her  farmers  now  purpose  finding  a  market  for  their  wheat 
over  the  gentleman's  railroad,  at  Puget's  sound,  instead  of  the 
Atlantic  coast. 

What  is  it  that  the  people  of  the  five  wheat-growing  States  of 
the  North-West  want  ?  How  can  the  present  prices  of  freight  be 
reduced,  unless  we  enlarge  the  channels  of  communication  ?  That 
must  be  done ;  and  then  Minnesota,  like  all  the  North-West,  will 
have  the  benefit  of  it. 

I  do  not  depreciate  the  importance  of  a  railroad  across  the  Rocky 
mountains  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific;  but  certainly  that  cannot 
take  away  from  our  project  its  vast  importance.  The  gentleman 
has  spoken  in  regard  to  measures,  which  he  says  ought  not  to  be 
considered  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  as  it  now  exists. 
He  has  spoken  of  the  enforced  absence  of  men  from  the  halls  of 
Congress ;  and  has  argued  that,  therefore,  the  people  of  the  loyal 
States,  through  their  representatives,  should  not  enact  such  legisla- 


28 

tion  as  they  may  see  fit,  because  traitors  have  left  their  seats.  As 
the  humblest  member  of  that  body,  I  tell  the  gentleman  from 
Minnesota,  that  my  action  will  never  be  governed  by  any  such 
considerations.  If  they  are  not  there,  let  them  take  the  conse- 
quences. Those  of  us  who  are  there  will  legislate  for  the  benefit 
of  those  whom  we  represent,  and  of  the  whole  country.  He  has 
said  that  the  States  of  New  York  and  Illinois  should  not  present 
themselves  as  pitiful  supplicants  for  favors  at  the  hands  of  Con- 
gress. Does  the  gentleman  understand  where  Illinois  stands  to- 
day, with  her  150,000  brave  men  making  the  earth  to  tremble 
beneath  their  tramp  ?  With  her  troops,  carrying  victory  inscribed 
on  all  their  banners,  so  recently  triumphant  on  so  many  blood- 
stained fields,  led  by  their  brave  and  unconquerable  Illinois  General, 
— Grant?  Illinois  a  mendicant !  Never,  never.  Does  not  the  gen- 
tleman know  that  there  are  great  national  interests,  over  and  above 
all  local  interests,  involved  in  the  propositions  which  this  Conven- 
tion is  to  consider  ?  This  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  is  to  be 
enlarged,  not  only  to  give  an  additional  outlet  to  the  products  of  the 
industry  of  our  vast  West ;  but,  as  a  more  ready  means  of  defense 
of  the  immense  commerce  that  floats  on  our  great  inland  seas ;  and 
to  the  defense  of  the  towns  and  cities  on  their  shores.  The  na- 
tional interest  requires  that  you  should  have  this  canal  so  enlarged 
as  to  permit  the  passage  of  gunboats  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Lakes,  to  be  ready  for  any  emergency,  and  for  all  comers. 

Is  not  the  Government  interested  in  that?  Are  not  the  gentle- 
man's constituents  in  Minnesota  interested  in  that?  Why  should 
not  we  of  the  West  have  some  attention  paid  to  us  by  Congress, 
for  our  defense  in  time  of  war?  Your  President,  yesterday,  in  his 
admirable  and  beautiful  address,  told  you  that,  under  existing 
treaties,  we  have  no  armament  on  these  Lakes — substantially  none 
— only  one  armed  vessel;  while  Great  Britain,  in  the  shortest  period 
of  time,  can  make  the  whole  Lakes  bristle  with  her  armed  vessels. 
That  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  the  Government  should  take  hold, 
and  open  up  the  channels  of  communication ;  so  that  you  can  get 
your  gunboats  to  the  Lakes  if  necessary;  so  that  you  can  send  a 
gunboat  from  Albany,  through  the  Erie  canal  to  Lake  Erie ; — so  as 
to  be  prepared  to  meet  any  emergency  that  may  arise.  Let  me 
tell  you  here, with  all  earnestness  and  seriousness,  that,  unless  the 
arm  of  that  haughty  power — Great  Britain — shall  soon  be  stayed 
in  her  aggressions  on  our  commerce,  the  clash  of  arms  will  be 
heard  in  another  direction,  from  where  it  now  resounds.  And 
when  it  does  come,  are  we  here  to  be  defenseless  ?  Is  this  Queen 
City  of  the  Lakes  ;  are  all  the  towns  and  cities  which  dent  their 
shores,  to  be  left  powerless  and  defenseless?  I  say,  no.  During 
the  short  time  that  I  have  been  in  Congress — as  the  President  can 
bear  witness — my  votes  have  always  been  given  for  the  largest 
appropriations  for  defenses  on  our  Eastern  coast;  and  is  it  to  be 
wondered  at,  that  I  demand  that  what  we  have  so  freely  given  to 
the  East  shall  be  now  as  freely  given  to  us  ? 

These  are  the  military  considerations.    Then  look  at  the  incidental 


29 

commercial  considerations.  Let  me  ask  the  farmers  of  Illinois,  of 
Iowa,  of  Indiana,  of  Ohio, — the  mother  of  us  all — of  Minnesota, 
and  of  Wisconsin,  how  the  question  stands.  It  may  be  easy  for 
the  gentleman  from  Minnesota  (Mr.  Taylor)  to  talk  as  he  does; 
but,  if  he  raised  corn  at  ten  cents  a  bushel,  and  it  cost  twenty-five 
cents  to  get  it  to  market,  I  think  he  would  look  on  the  other  side 
of  his  ledger.  He  has  spoken  of  Chicago,  and  the  interests  which 
this  city  has  in  the  matter.  Why,  how  many,  in  this  vast  throng 
which  I  address,  are  interested  in  the  city  of  Chicago  ?  Sir,  it  is 
not  the  interest  of  Chicago  that  is  represented  here;  it  is  the  interest 
of  the  whole  country.  It  is  the  interest  of  labor.  And  I  am  grati- 
fied to  see  so  many  of  the  farmers  here  to-day,  for  they  are  the 
men  who  are  interested  in  the  matter  more  deeply  than  any  other. 
But,  Mr.  President,  I  will  not  detain  the  Convention  any  longer. 
I  desired  merely  to  state  briefly  the  reasons  which  had  induced  me, 
at  the  very  threshold,  to  move  to  lay  the  gentleman's  resolution  on 
the  table.  We  have  not  met  here  as  a  Railroad  Convention,  or  as 
a  Convention  to  take  into  consideration  any  other  subject  but  that 
which  is  mentioned  in  the  call.  However  we  may  agree  with  the 
first  part  of  the  gentleman's  resolution,  in  regard  to  the  Pacific 
railroad,  and  the  duty  of  the  Government  in  that  respect,  we  cer- 
tainly cannot  permit  the  resolution  to  be  considered.  I  therefore 
renew  the  motion  to  lay  it  on  the  table. 

The  question  was  put,  and  the  report  and  the  resolution  were 
laid  upon  the  table. 

The  CHAIR.  The  Secretary  will  announce  the  arrival  of  a  dele- 
gation of  true  and  loyal  men  from  the  State  of  Kentucky,  as  mem- 
bers of  this  Convention,  together  with  the  persons  they  have 
delegated  to  act  on  committees. 

The  Secretary  read  the  names  of  the  Kentucky  delegation,  as 
follows : 

Thomas  S.  Page.  Dr.  H.  Rodman. 

M.  G.  Knight.  Wm.  Terry. 

W.  J.  Morton.  R,  H.  Cramp. 

Committee  on  Resolutions  —  Dr.  W.  J.  Morton. 
For  Vice  President  —  Wm.  Terry. 

The  CHAIR  requested  the  gentlemen  named  to  take  seats  upon 
the  platform. 

Mr.  SPAULDING,  from  the  Committee  on  Organization,  said  that 
the  Committee  had  consulted  upon  the  propriety  of  restricting 
speeches  to  a  given  time,  but  had  come  to  no  decision.  He  would, 
however,  assume  the  responsibility  of  moving  that  delegates  speak- 
ing be  restricted  to  ten  minutes,  the  rule  to  apply  for  this  day. 

Mr.  Spaulding's  motion  was  then  put  upon  its  passage,  and  pre- 
vailed. 


30 

Mr.  WASHBURNE,  of  Illinois.  I  have  the  pleasure  of  announcing 
the  arrival  of  a  delegate  from  Massachusetts,  Hon.  H.  L.  Dawes,  a 
member  of  the  last  and  present  Congress,  and  one  of  the  most 
earnest  and  able  advocates  of  the  Canal  measure. 

Mr.  RUGGLES,  of  New  York,  offered  the  following  resolutions : 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  immense  increase  in  the  products  of  the  States 
adjacent  to  the  Lakes  and  the  Upper  Mississippi,  and  the  necessity  of  providing  for 
the  defense  of  the  national  commerce  on  these  waters,  this  Convention  hold  it  to 
be  the  imperative  duty  of  the  General  Government  to  provide  any  necessary  facil- 
ities for  cheapening  and  protecting  said  commerce,  by  adequately  enlarging,  and 
improving  the  canals  and  rivers,  now  connecting  the  Lakes  with  the  Hudson  and 
with  the  Mississippi  rivers. 

Resolved,  That  the  proposed  advantages,  military  and  commercial,  of  a  canal 
around  the  Fails  of  Niagara,  be  also  commended  to  the  careful  examination  of 
Congress. 

Mr.  RIDDLE,  of  Ohio,  offered  the  following  resolution  as  a  sub- 
stitute of  the  second : 

Resolved,  As  the  sense  of  the  Ohio  delegation,  that  our  member  of  the  Committee 
on  Resolutions  be  instructed  to  keep  the  subject  of  a  ship-canal  around  the  Falls  of 
Niagara  prominently  in  view,  in  connection  with  the  system  of  improvements  to  be 
recommended  by  this  Convention. 

The  PRESIDENT  requested  the  Secretary  to  read  the  original 
resolutions,  and  the  substitute  for  the  second,  which  was  done. 

Mr.  A.  G.  RIDDLE.  It  will  be  discovered  that  there  are  two  pro- 
positions reported  by  the  Committee,  but  both  are  not  upon  the 
same  basis.  That  in  regard  to  the  ship-canal  around  the  Falls  of 
Niagara  is  placed  in  a  subordinate  position.  I  should  desire,  only 
so  far  as  any  personal  views  which  I  entertain  as  an  individual 
are  concerned,  that  it  be  placed  upon  precisely  the  same  basis  that 
the  first  general  propositions  are.  An  intelligent  stranger,  who 
would  first  unroll  the  map  of  North  America,  would  be  struck,  per- 
haps, with  nothing  more  directly  than  with  the  immense  system 
of  great  inland  waters.  Following  the  map  he  would  necessarily 
see  whether  there  was  a  navigable  outlet  existing  from  the  Great 
Lakes  to  the  Ocean,  and  he  would  be  struck  by  the  entire  obstruc- 
tion of  navigation  by  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  between  Lakes  Erie 
and  Ontario.  The  first  proposition  contemplated  that  a  great  popu- 
lation should  spring  up  upon  the  shores  of  these  inland  seas ;  and 
their  configuration,  their  location,  and  their  relation  to  the  rest  of 
the  continent,  seem  to  have  marked  them  as  the  destined  abode  of 
a  great  people ;  it  was  in  fact  the  promise  of  their  creation,  that  if 
they  were  not  the  greatest,  they  should,  at  least,  torm  one  great 
element  of  the  nation.  The  stranger  would  ask  whether  it  was 
possible  to  secure  navigable  facilities  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the 
Ocean.  He  would  try  to  ascertain  what  would  be  the  degree  of 
practicability  of  connecting  this  great  chain  of  lakes,  long  before 


31 

he  dreamed  of  the  union  of  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  with  those 
of  the  Upper  Lakes,  or  even  the  construction  of  the  Erie  canal. 

He  would  determine  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  sovereign  to 
complete  what  nature  had  thus  left  incomplete.  If  he  looked  fur- 
ther, he  would  find  that  the  sovereign  of  the  soil  on  the  northern 
side  had  acted  on  that  natural  hint,  and  had  completed  what  nature, 
for  some  purpose,  had  left  incomplete,  and  had  already  constructed 
a  ship-canal.  He  would  be  utterly  amazed  that  a  great  nation  like 
our  own,  which  had  planted  its  footsteps  on  the  further  shores  of 
those  Great  Lakes,  was  still  content  to  grope  through  that  canal, 
which  the  British  Government  had  constructed  on  the  other  side, 
and  to  pay  tribute  therefor.  He  would  be  utterly  amazed  that  the 
great  nation,  on  the  south  side  of  these  now  unnavigable  waters,  had 
not  acted  on  the  teachings  of  nature  herself,  and  followed  the 
example  of  her  great  rival  by  constructing  for  herself,  on  her  own 
soil,  a  ship-canal  around  the  Falls  of  Niagara. 

A  population  has  sprung  up  upon  the  shores  of  these  Lakes, 
greater  than  the  entire  population  of  the  United  States  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war  of  1812.  There  are  cities  strewed  all  along 
those  Lakes,  larger,  some  of  them,  more  populous,  and  more  power- 
ful, than  any  city  upon  our  western  continent  at  that  time. 

May  I  not  say  that  this  is  the  first  great  link  in  the  plan  of  lake- 
navigation  ?  However  great,  or  however  important  the  other  pro- 
positions are,  I  submit  that,  if  not  entitled  to  the  very  first  place 
in  the  proceedings  of  this  Convention,  it  is  entitled  to  be  placed 
upon  the  same  basis  as  the  other.  This  is  the  proposition  you  have 
to  pass  upon. 

I  would  like  to  have  said  something  upon  the  main  proposition ; 
but  I  do  not  propose  to  do  so  now,  as  the  question  is  not  before 
the  Convention.  My  voice  has  been  raised  in  another  place,  and 
my  vote  has  been  given,  for  the  general  proposition  that  underlies 
the  first  branch  of  the  report. 

Mr.  SPAULDING,  of  Ohio,  followed.  It  was  distinctly  understood 
by  this  Convention,  that  I  am  peculiarly  in  favor  of  that  great 
work  of  internal  improvement — a  navigable  ship-canal  around  the 
Falls  of  Niagara ;  and  I  now  avow,  for  the  first  time,  that  I  am 
equally  in  favor  of  a  ship-canal  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  How  is  this  to  be  accomplished,  except 
by  a  canal  around  the  Cataract  of  Niagara  ?  Is  there  anything 
lying  under  the  surface  which  we  do  not  now  understand  ?  If  so, 
this  Convention  is  acting  in  the  dark.  I  am  a  practical  man.  I  have 
but  a  few  words  and  those  short  ones.  It  is  said  that  the  great 
work  is  a  military  necessity.  So  it  is.  This  Convention  itself  is 
a  great  military  necessity  ;  and  its  assembling  at  such  a  time  as 
this,  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the  common  defense  for  all  time 
to  come,  will  produce  a  more  stunning  effect  on  the  rebellion  than 
several  victories  by  our  armies.  I  would  desire  that  those  who 
are  in  favor  of  the  enlargement  of  the  New  York  canal,  and  those 
who  are  in  favor  of  the  enlargement  of  the  Illinois  canal,  should 


32 

meet  each  other  half  way.  The  whole  lake-shore  interest  have 
much  at  heart  in  this  particular  work — the  construction  of  a  ship- 
canal  round  the  Falls  of  Niagara.  I  do  not  desire  to  speak  in 
words  of  menace ;  I  only  desire  to  speak  in  words  of  harmony. 
This  measure  requires  all  the  aid  we  can  give  to  it.  Now,  do  not 
let  us,  by  our  course  to-day,  cast  from  us  one  single  vote  in  Con- 
gress. We  can  be  harmonious,  and  give  our  energies  to  the  enlarge- 
ment of  both  canals,  and  the  construction  of  a  ship-canal,  thus 
making  a  practical  ship-communication  from  Gulf  to  Gulf;  and 
then,  with  the  blessing  and  the  smiles  of  God  upon  us,  we  must 
be  successful. 

Mr.  RUGGLES.  The  Committee,  Mr.  President,  is  attacked  by  the 
gentleman  who  has  just  sat  down,  and  this  Convention  is  told  that 
there  is  something  lying  under  these  resolutions,  which  he  does  not 
understand.  I  will  tell  him  what  lies  under  the  resolutions.  It  is 
the  welfare  of  the  United  States  which  lies  under  them,  and  the 
safety  of  its  commerce,  and  the  development  of  its  resources,  and 
the  guarding  of  this  commerce,  and  these  developments  from  foreign 
diversion ;  nothing  else.  Who  ever  heard  before  of  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence  in  this  connection?  Has  not  our  whole  struggle 
been  to  prevent  this  Canadian  diversion?  A  principal  aim  of  the 
memorials  to  Congress,  and  the  documents  issued  by  the  Boards 
of  Trade,  was  to  prevent  our  internal  commerce  from  being  diverted 
from  our  own  water-courses  and  sea-ports,  into  those  of  foreign 
nations.  I  do  not  say  that  this  result  would  certainly  flow  from  the 
construction  of  this  ship-canal ;  but,  to  say  the  least,  it  is  possible. 
But,  I  do  not  mean  to  take  ground  against  the  ship-canal  here,  and 
perhaps  not  elsewhere ;  we  cannot,  however,  close  our  eyes  upon  the 
magnitude  of  the  consequences  involved.  The  question,  whether 
the  hundred  millions  bushels  of  grain, — soon  to  be  multiplied  to  a 
thousand  millions — is  to  be  poured  into  foreign  ports,  rather  than 
into  our  own,  is  a  national  question  of  the  gravest  import,  and 
one  which  deserves  the  consideration,  not  only  of  this  Convention, 
but  of  Congress.  Hence,  the  form  of  the  second  resolution,  which 
asserts  that  the  military  and  commercial  advantages  of  the  mea- 
sure deserved  the  attention  of  the  General  Government.  I  admit 
that  such  a  work  might  produce  some  saving  in  transportation, 
and  might  add  to  the  military  security  of  the  country ;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  we  should  keep  our  eyes  fixed  on  the  preservation  of 
our  commerce. 

Mr.  HENRY,  of  Iowa.  I  offer  an  amendment  to  the  resolution 
of  the  gentleman  from  New  York,  which  I  suppose  he  will  have 
no  objection  to  accept.  I  offer  to  insert  after  the  word  "Niagara," 
the  words,  "  and,  also,  so  to  improve  the  Rock  Island  and  Des- 
Moines  Kapids  of  the  Mississippi  river,  as  to  pass  gunboats  over 
them."  This  is  part  and  parcel  of  the  great  chain  of  national  work. 
The  Mississippi  requires  attention  to  her  defenses,  and  the  passage 
of  gunboats,  equally  with  the  Lakes,  and  I,  therefore,  hope  the  gen- 
tleman will  not  object  to  my  amendment.  (Appendix,  D.) 


33 

Mr.  A.  G.  RIDDLE.     Is  not  that  intended  as  an  amendment  to 

the  original  proposition  ? 

Mr.  J.  B.  GRINNKLL,  of  Iowa.  I  observed  the  smiles  that  passed 
over  the  countenances  of  the  gentlemen  from  New  York,  because  the 
word  Des-Moines  was  mentioned.  I  wish  the  gentlemen  from  New 
York  to  understand  that  the  present  proposition  has  no  relation 
whatever  to  their  Des-Moines  improvements.  A  company  from  that 
State  placed  some  fifty  locks  there  for  the  purpose  of  damming 
(though  they  did  not  mean  it  for  damning,  but  for  improving)  the 
water-communication. 

Now  I  wish  to  state,  in  a  few  words,  what  is  the  position  of  the 
State  of  Iowa. 

Mr.  President,  I  wish  you  to  understand  that,  from  the  State  of 
Minnesota,  for  500  miles  to  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  and  the 
State  of  Illinois,  the  productions  of  the  soil  all  go  down  the  Missis- 
sippi river;  and  in  doing  so,  have  to  be  laden  and  unladen  two  or 
three  times.  Now,  suppose  the  project  of  this  Convention  is  carried 
out,  to  construct  a  ship-canal  in  Illinois.  How  can  you  expect  a  vote 
from  the  State  of  Iowa,  and  how  can  you  expect  me  to  be  sustained 
at  home,  if  I  vote  to  appropriate  $100,000,000  for  these  purposes, 
unless  we  can  have  a  moiety  for  making  the  Mississippi  navigable,, 
so  that  our  gun-boats  and  our  corn-boats  can  pass  to  and  fro  upon  it. 
Now,  Sir,  this  is  our  proposition  :  We  expect  to  support  the  reso- 
lution in  favor  of  this  ship  canal,  and  we  shall  couple  with  it  a 
demand  that  the  Mississippi  shall  be  cleared.  By  that,  we  mean, 
that  the  Upper  and  Lower  rapids  may  be  made  passable  for  gun- 
boats and  steamboats.  No  one  believes  that  it  will  cost  more  than 
a  million  dollars ;  and,  if  it  succeeds,  we  shall  bring  to  you  millions 
of  value  in  wheat 

I  beg  the  Convention  to  bear  in  mind  that,  Iowa  has  nearly  a 
million  of  people,  and  fifty  thousand  brave  men  in  the  field.  Thirty* 
of  her  noble  regiments  are  to-day  before  Vicksburg,  if  not  in  it,  as 
I  trust  to  God  they  are.  And  this  is  the  only  thing  we  ask ;  that 
you  will  believe  us  as  in  earnest,  when  we  say,  that  we  want  an  outlet 
to  Chicago,  to  Buffalo,  to  New  York,  and  to  Liverpool,  and  that 
yon  will  help  us  in  making  this  river  passable. 

Why,  Sir,  only  one-ninth  of  our  territory  is  under  cultivation* 
You  gentlemen  here,  speculators,  own  it.  I  invite  you  to  go  over 
and  look  at  your  broad  acres.  Not  one  acre  in  ten  of  our  country 
is  improved,  and  yet  we  have  nearly  a  million  of  people.  We  are 
not  boasting;  but  we  have  less  waste  land  in  our  State  than  any 
other  State  of  the  Union.  It  is  all  entered,  except  one  or  two  million 
acres.  Come,  vote  with  us,  act  with  us,  do  not  sneer  at  us,  indorse 
us.  Incorporate  this  amendment  with  that  resolution,  and  I  believe 
you  can  then  be  assured  of  the  support  of  the  people  of  Iowa. 

I  have  looked  to  this  Convention  as  a  means  of  binding  the  East 

and  the  West  together.     I  predict  that,  in  ten  years  from  this  time, 

the  State  of  Iowa  will  send  away  a  larger  number  of  bushels  of 

wheat  and  corn,  more  value  in  pork,  and  beef,  and  wool  (and  I  am 

3 


34 

a  wool-grower  myself),  than  all  that  noAv  passes  the  gates  of 
Chicago.  I  say  again,  that  I  look  to  this  Convention  as  a  means 
of  cementing  the  East  and  the  West. 

It  is  my  custom  to  make  an  annual  pilgrimage  to  the  East,  where 
are  the  graves  of  my  fathers,  from  which  I  return  more  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  worth  of  the  Union,  and  with  the  future  greatness 
and  glory  of  our  country.  In  the  heat  of  my  passion,  I  have  thought 
I  could  shed  my  blood  to  keep  our  States  together.  To  this  Conven- 
tion I  have  looked  for  practical  deeds  ;  and  have  hoped  we  might 
love  more  as  brothers  by  our  meeting,  and  embrace  like  Joseph  and 
Benjamin,  though  one  was  reared  in  Egypt,  and  the  other  in  Canaan. 
Commerce,  interest,  and  duty,  may  bind  us  with  a  golden  chain. 
Our  hearts  are  in  the  work,  which  will  give  value  to  our  produce, 
unity  to  our  people,  and  bring  the  Mississippi,  cleared  of  its  obstruc- 
tions, in  connection  with  Lake  Michigan  and  the  Atlantic  ocean. 

Mr.  LEIGHTON,  of  Iowa,  I  believe,  Sir,  that  light  ought  to  be 
shed  on  all  questions  brought  before  this  assembly.  I  believe,  Sir, 
that  many  of  those  gentlemen  who  smiled  at  the  mention  of  the 
Des-Moines  rapids,  would  cease  to  smile  if  they  reflected  that  the 
Des-Moines  rapids  are  the  rapids  of  the  "Father  of  Waters;" 
that  small  stream,  Sir,  that  risrs  about  five  or  six  hundred  miles 
above  where  I  live  (Keokuk),  and  debouches  in  the  Mexican  Gulf, 
fifteen  hundred  miles  south  of  me ;  that  is  the  stream,  Sir,  which 
the  gentleman's  amendment  proposes  to  have  cleared  for  navigation 
in  the  Upper  and  Lower  rapids.  The  distance  is  about  twenty -two 
miles  altogether,  and  the  improvements  can  be  made  at  a  cost  of 
$1,000,000,  as  I  am  informed  by  eminent  engineers;  amongst 
others  by  Major  General  S.  R.  Curtis,  who  thinks  that,  as  far  as 
Iowa  is  concerned,  we  have  no  interest  here  at  all,  unless  the 
rapids  of  the  Mississippi  are  cleared  out  in  some  way  or  other ; 
either  by  blasting  out  the  rocks,  or  building  a  canal  around  them. 
Even  if  you  obtain  the  improvements  now  contemplated,  the 
larger  portion  of  Iowa  has  still  the  impediments  of  the  Missis- 
sippi navigation  to  contend  with,  and  she  cannot  send  a  bushel  of 
grain,  or  a  single  soldier,  except  over  these  impediments. 

We  think  this  is  perfectly  germain  to  the  objects  of  this  Con- 
vention. I  know  that  the  gentlemen  from  St.  Louis  will  not  laugh 
at  us  for  this  amendment.  I  know  that  the  business  of  Iowa  is 
worth,  to  them,  some  thousands  of  dollars  per  year ;  but  I  look 
forward  to  the  day  when,  with  the  gentlemen  from  Minnesota,  we 
will  again  trade  with  our  misguided  friends  in  the  South.  We  want 
again  to  send  our  produce  to  the  Southern  planters  of  the  Gulf 
States,  as  we  did  in  olden  times.  We  want  the  rapids  cleared  out, 
that  we  may  extend  our  hearts  and  our  right  hand  to  the  East, 
and  our  left  hand  and  what  remains  of  our  hearts,  to  the  South.  I 
speak  as  a  lover  of  the  Union,  one  who  would  give  his  life,  his  for- 
tune, and  his  sacred  honor,  in  favor  of  supporting  the  Union, 
inseparably  one,  now  and  forever. 

I  ask  gentlemen  not  to  indulge  in  smiles  at  the  mere  mention  of 


35 

a  name,  as  if  it  were  that  of  some  unknown  and  insignificant 
stream.  It  is  the  great  "  Father  of  Waters,"  the  Amazon  of  the 
North,  the  main  artery  of  this  half  of  the  continent. 

We  ask  you  to  make  the  improvements  which  a  young  and  gal- 
lant State  has  aright  to  ask  ;  a  right  to  ask  that  these  impediments 
shall  be  removed,  and  that  we  may  send  our  grain  to  the  North 
and  South,  as  well  as  to  the  East  and  West.  Now,  the  transporta- 
tion to  New  York  is  three  times  the  cost  of  raising  grain.  It  is 
even  cheaper  for  us  to  burn  corn  for  fuel,  than  to  go  into  the  woods 
and  cut  it,  paying  a  man  seventy-five  cents  per  cord  for  his  labor. 
We  ask  that  our  corn  may  be  sent  to  the  suffering  millions  of 
Europe.  The  railroads  cannot  do  it.  They  are  already  over- 
crowded with  business,  and  their  resources  more  than  taxed.  I  see 
upon  the  platform  a  most  worthy  and  excellent  railroad  president, 
and  he  knows  the  truth  of  my  statement.  The  railroads  are  wax- 
ing fat,  and  we  of  the  West  want  a  finger  in  the  pie.  I  most  cor- 
dially second  the  amendment  for  the  improvement  of  the  rapids. 

Mr.  HUBBELL,  of  Wisconsin.  I  am  loth  to  utter  a  word  com- 
ing in  the  way  of  this  Convention.  But  I  ask  the  movers  of  these 
resolutions,  and  the  gentlemen  discussing  them  so  eloquently,  what 
is  the  policy  in  this  effort  to  induce  the  Government  to  build  canals 
or  remove  river  obstructions'?  Is  it  a  military  necessity?  We 
have  heard  it  discussed  as  if  it  were  only  a  commercial  necessity. 
In  that  light  I  concur  in  all  that  has  been  said,  or  can  be  said.  Is 
this  canal  through  Illinois  sought  for  on  the  grounds  that  the  neces- 
sities of  the  Government  now  require  this  expenditure  of  money. 
We  are  told  the  nation  is  engaged  in  a  gigantic  war,  and  stagger- 
ing under  the  weight  of  the  blows  heaped  upon  it.  It  stands, 
sword  in  one  hand  and  pistol  in  the  other,  summoning  every  man 
in  the  loyal  States  to  protect  its  life.  Does  this  Convention  come 
here  now  to  ask  permission  to  put  its  hands  in  the  pockets  of  the 
Government  to  build  canals?  Is  it  essential  while  this  war  is  being 
carried  on,  that  this  money  shall  be  taken  ?  If  so,  take  it  as  freely  as 
you  take  the  heart's  blood  of  the  soldiers  of  Illinois  and  Wisconsin. 
If  not  so,  spare  that  money.  I  openly  ask  members  of  Congress, 
if  this  construction  of  canals  be  not  a  military  necessity,  will  they 
dare  to  put  their  hands  in  the  public  purse  to  take  money  and  build 
them  ?  I  would  rather  burn  the  houses  of  the  Sanitary  Commis- 
sion, or  rob  an  hospital,  for  that  would  injure  only  a  few  sick  sol- 
diers. The  abstraction  of  this  money  would  wrong  and  injure  the 
whole  country. 

For  what  purpose  are  these  canals  a  military  necessity  ?  How 
long  will  it  take  to  build  them?  Three,  four,  or  five  years  ?  What 
military  necessity  will  there  be  at  the  end  of  that  time  ?  This 
rebellion  ?  God  forbid  that  it  should  last  that  long.  A  war  with 
England?  When  did  we  have  a  war  with  England  ?  Fifty  years 
ago.  When  shall  we  have  another  ?  Not  for  fifty  years  to  come, 
except  by  our  own  volition.  If  John  Bull  had  chosen  to  fight  with 
Brother  Jonathan,  he  would  have  done  it  last  year,  when  the  South 


36 

had  us  by  the  throat.  Now,  when  we  have  got  the  South  by  the 
throat,  and  John  Bull  knows  it,  is  he  going  to  venture  his  com- 
merce against  our  armaments?  No!  if  John  Bull  fights  with  us, 
it  will  be  during  the  rebellion. 

Is  it  a  commercial  necessity  ?  I  admit  it,  but  not  a  vital  one. 
The  railroads  for  years  past  have  transported  the  grain  of  Wiscon- 
sin and  Minnesota  at  twelve  cents  per  bushel.  The  canals  and 
improvements  of  the  rapids  will  never  transport  the  wheat  of  Min- 
nesota and  Iowa  as  cheaply  as  the  railroads.  Can  you  send  wheat 
down  the  Mississippi  and  up  the  canal,  which  can  be  open  only 
half  the  year,  and  compete  with  the  railroads,  which  run  all  the 
year? 

Mr.  LEVI  BLOSSOM,  of  Wisconsin,  suggested  a  point  of  order, 
that  when  an  amendment  is  pending,  speakers  should  confine  them- 
selves to  the  amendment,  and  not  talk  at  large  upon  the  main 
proposition. 

Mr.  LEVI  BLOSSOM,  of  Wisconsin.  I  offer  an  amendment  to 
the  amendment  now  under  consideration,  by  adding  these  words  : 
"  And  the  widening  and  deepening  of  the  channel  through  the  St. 
Clair  Flats,  and  the  enlargement  and  deepening  of  the  channel  of 
the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  Rivers  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi." (Appendix,  E.) 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  :  It  is  not  my  purpose  or  inten- 
tion to  entertain  you  with  a  speech  upon  this  amendment,  but  as 
it  has  been  decided  that  this  is  a  Convention  for  canal  and  river- 
enlargement  purposes,  and  not  a  railroad  convention,  I  propose  to 
bring  before  you  the  proposed  channel  through  Wisconsin,  and 
the  improvement  of  the  channel  through  the  Flats.  Without  this 
latter  highly  important  improvement,  we  have  no  assurance  that 
we  can  get  to  New  York  at  all,  or  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 
Let  all  of  us  understand  that  it  is  impossible,  and  I  need  not  further 
enlarge  upon  it. 

Upon  the  deepening  of  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers,  I  know  I 
shall  be  met  with  sneers.  There  are  two  natural  channels  from 
Green  Bay  to  the  Mississippi,  of  250  to  300  miles  in  length,  through 
a  rich  and  fertile  country,  second  to  none  in  importance.  Now 
between  these  two  natural  channels,  throughout  that  extent,  an 
artificial  channel  of  one  and  a  quarter  miles  mingles  the  waters  of 
the  Mississippi  and  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  like  does  not  exist 
in  any  other  place  on  this  continent.  Little  is  said,  little  is  known 
about  it.  And  yet  they  have  HO  far  succeeded  now,  in  deepening 
and  widening  this  canal,  that  barges  carrying  one  hundred  tons 
can  go  through.  There  is  a  natural  channel  running  through 
a  country  some  250  miles  in  extent,  that  can  be  made  deep  enough, 
and  wide  enough,  to  carry  gun-boats  through  from  Lake  Michigan 
to  the  Mississippi,  and  then  by  the  improvement  of  the  Des- 


37 

Moinea  rapids  to  let  them  down  the  Mississippi.  It  is  all  true. 
I  simply  call  your  attention  to  the  importance  of  this  channel,  and 
the  cheapness  with  which  it  can  be  built,  in  comparison  with 
any  other.  Now,  I  am  going  to  state  a  fact,  and  that  is,  that 
$4,000,000  will  carry  all  the  gun-boats  of  the  United  States  from 
one  river  to  the  other ;  for  we  have  got  a  channel  there,  made  by 
the  God  of  nature,  which,  for  all  practical  purposes,  can  be 
made  just  as  available  for  the  produce  of  Minnesota,  as  for  that  of 
Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  which  never  would  be  brought  down  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Illinois  river,  and  thence  up  to  Chicago.  The  railroads 
will  bring  that.  You  could  by  this  route  bring  the  produce  of 
Wisconsin,  Northern  Iowa,  Minnesota,  and  that  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  States,  yet  to  be  developed  out  of  the  district  west  of  them. 

Mr.  A.  G.  RIDDLE.  Are  they  not  a  portion  of  the  rivers  named 
in  the  first  branch  of  these  resolutions,  as  rivers  connecting  the 
Mississippi  river  with  the  Upper  Lakes  ? 

Mr.  LKVI  BLOSSOM.  I  admit  they  may  come  within  the  limits 
of  that  resolution. 

Mr.  LEIGHTON.  Some  of  my  friends  say  that  I  have  stated  that 
"  if  these  rapids  were  not  improved,  Iowa  had  no  business  in  this 
Convention."  I  meant  that  commercially  speaking,  Iowa  had  no 
interests  here ;  but  Iowa,  for  any  project  of  a  military  nature,  has 
an  interest  here  equal  to  that  of  any  State  of  the  Union;  therefore, 
Mr.  President,  I  wish  that  portion  of  my  speech  to  be  corrected. 
We  ask  what  we  think  we  are  entitled  to  in  a  commercial  sense, 
but  when  you  ask  if  Iowa  is  sound  for  the  Union,  and  in  favor  of 
a  canal  for  the  transport  of  her  troops  and  gun-boats,  you  have 
every  man,  woman  and  child  with  you. 

Mr.  BLOSSOM.  I  understand  that  all  these  resolutions  are  to  be 
communicated  to  Congress.  Now,  it  is  with  that  view,  and  that 
all  these  people  from  the  East  and  from  the  West  may  understand 
when  you  speak  about  improving  these  channels  of  communica- 
tion, that  that  is  not  all  that  we  want.  We  want  the  attention  of 
Congress  as  well  to  that  northern  improvement  which  I  have 
alluded  to.  We  want  the  improvement  of  the  St.  Clair  Flats,  and 
also  of  that  magnificent  outlet,  the  Mississippi  river.  Also  to 
commend  to  their  special  attention,  the  construction  of  a  canal 
around  the  Falls  of  Niagara.  It  is  for  this  purpose  I  have  been 
induced  to  offer  this  amendment  to  the  resolution. 

The  amendment  to  the  amendment  was  then  put  and  carried, 
and  the  chair  announced  that  the  question  reverted  to  the  amend- 
ment as  relating  to  the  Des-Moines,  and  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin 
improvements. 


38 

Mr.  JENNISON,  of  Kansas,  said  :  I  had  hoped  that  we  should 
assemble  here  as  brothers,  East,  West,  North  and  South.  I  can 
speak  for  the  people  of  Kansas,  that  we  join  hands  with  you  in 
this  national  enterprise,  believing  it  a  commercial  and  military 
necessity  that  the  canal  be  built.  The  Western  people  have  in- 
terests as  well  as  New  York,  Ohio  and  Illinois ;  and  while  we 
grant  there  is  a  common  interest,  the  people  of  Kansas  view  these 
matters  as  of  national  interest. 

The  remainder  of  his  remarks,  being  foreign  to  the  subject 
under  discussion,  are  omitted. 

Mr.  FOOTE,  of  New  York,  moved  the  previous  question. 

Mr.  KELLOGG,  of  Illinois,  asked  the  mover  to  withdraw  that 
motion,  so  that  he  might  move  to  recommit  the  original  resolution, 
and  all  pending  amendments  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  FOOTE,  of  New  York,  withdrew  his  motion. 

Mr.  KELLOGG,  of  Illinois,  then  submitted  his  motion,  and  moved 
the  previous  question. 

The  previous  question  was  seconded,  and,  under  its  operation, 
the  original  resolutions  and  all  pending  amendments  were  recom- 
mitted to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  McMANUS,  of  New  York,  submitted  a  resolution  directing 
the  Committee  on  Resolutions  to  embody  in  their  report  a  recom- 
mendation for  an  appropriation  of  $2,000,000  for  the  improvement 
of  the  Hudson  river  between  New  Baltimore  and  the  city  of  Troy. 

The  resolution  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  ARNOLD,  of  Illinois,  presented  the  following,  which  were 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions : 

The  representatives  of  the  loyal  States,  assembled  in  National  Convention  at 
Chicago,  desirous  of  cementing  a  closer  Union,  of  perpetuating  our  Nationality 
forever,  of  providing  for  the  common  defense  and  promoting  the  general  welfare 
of  our  whole  country,  adopt  the  following  resolutions : 

1.  That  we  regard  the  enlargement  of  the  canals  between  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic,  as  of  great  Military,  National,  and  Commercial  im- 
portance.    We  believe  that  such  enlargement,  to  the  capacity  of  passing  gun- 
boats from  the  Mississippi  to  Lake  Michigan,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  and  from 
the  Great  Lakes,  will  furnish  the  cheapest  and  the  most  efficient  means  of  pro- 
tecting the  Northern  frontier,  and  at  the  same  -time  tend  greatly  to  promote  the 
rapid  development,  and  permanent  Union  of  our  whole  country. 

2.  That  the  opening  substantially,  by  the  improvements  proposed,  of  another 
mouth  to  the  Mississippi  on  Lake  Michigan,  and  commercially  at  the  City  of  New 
York,  so  that  that  great  national  and  continental  highway  shall  discharge  itself  at 
New  York  via  Chicago,  as  well  as  at  New  Orleans,  is  a  work  demanded  alike  by 
military  prudence,  political    wisdom,  and  the  necessities   of  commerce.     Such  a 
work  would  be  not  only  national  but  continental.     Every  motive  of  sound  politi- 
cal economy  requires  its  early  accomplishment. 

3.  That  such  a  national  highway  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  FKKK,  without 


tolls  and  restrictions.  We  should,  therefore,  deprecate  the  placing  of  this  grand 
highway  in  the  hands  of  any  private  corporation  or  State.  The  work  should  be 
done  by  national  credit;  and,  as  soon  as  its  cost  is  reimbursed  to  the  national 
treasury,  it  should  be  made  free  as  the  lakes  to  the  commerce  of  the  world. 

On  motion,  the  names  of  Messrs.  D.  E.  Anthony  and  E.  G. 
Carr,  were  added  to  the  list  of  delegates  from  the  State  of  Kansas. 

Mr.  FOOTE,  of  New  York,  submitted  a  resolution  that  the  Com- 
mittee recommend  to  Congress  to  provide  such  ample  means  for 
canal-communications  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Eastern  States 
by  lakes,  and  the  construction  or  enlargement  of  canals,  as  it  shall 
determine  to  be  a  national  military  necessity. 

The  resolution  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  TRUMAN,  of  New  York,  submitted  a  resolution  declaring 
that  a  ship-canal  of  ten  miles  in  length,  would  connect  Cayuga 
Lake  with  Lake  Ontario,  thereby  extending  the  line  of  navigation 
seventy-five  miles  to  Ithaca,  a  point  sixty  miles  nearer  to  the  city 
of  New  York  by  railroad  than  is  now  reached  by  vessels  on  the 
Great  Lakes,  which  would  make  a  more  feasible  approach  to  the 
Anthracite  coal  region,  and  the  iron  mines  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
open  a  capacious  and  safe  harbor  for  gun-boats  in  the  interior  of 
the  State  of  New  York. 

The  resolution  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Mr.  WALBKIDGE,  of  New  York.  I  rise  to  propose  to  read  to 
the  Committee  a  resolution  which  has  already  received  an  in- 
dorsement in  the  city  of  New  York,  when  the  people  of  that  city 
met  to  vindicate  the  integrity  of  the  constitutional  government  of 
the  land ;  that  has  subsequently  been  indorsed  by  the  Boards  of 
Trade  of  New  York  city,  city  of  Buffalo,  city  of  Toledo,  and 
also  by  the  city  of  Chicago,  when,  last  year,  the  largest  mass 
meeting  which  ever  was  convened  here,  was  assembled.  By  the 
construction  of  the  seventy-three  miles  of  canal  to  which  this 
resolution  refers,  you  would  be  enabled,  in  the  vicissitudes  of 
foreign  war,  to  find  ample  and  easy  transit,  to  places  ranging  from 
150  to  any  number  of  miles  along  your  coast,  so  that  in  such 
vicissitudes  we  could  still  convey  our  armies  and  our  navies  and 
preserve  our  commerce. 

I  am  convinced  that,  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic, 
there  should  exist  a  stream  as  broad  as  the  Mississippi,  capable 
of  passing  our  ships  in  time  of  war;  and  it  is  upon  that  subject  I 
have  a  right  to  speak.  I  believe  that  national  exigences  require 
that  it  should  be  performed.  I  submit  this  resolution  to  the  Com- 
mittee that  they  may  act  upon  it,  stating  that  New  York  desires 


40 

not  to  discriminate  between  any  of  these  great  States,  sympa- 
thizing as  she  does,  with  all  these  great  movements,  of  whatever 
magnitude  they  may  be,  in  this  gigantic  strife  in  which  we  are  all 
engaged. 

Resolved,  That  Congress  should  provide  for  opening  the  great  line  of  interior 
water-communication  along  our  Atlantic  coast  capable  of  passing  our  naval  fleet 
and  our  commercial  marine  from  the  waters  of  the  Ronnoke,  and  Chesapeake  Bay, 
to  the  eastern  terminus  of  Long  Island  ;  and  that  the  loyal  States,  through  which 
the  work  is  to  be  constructed,  should  at  once  open  the  means  of  internal  commu- 
nication, by  which  our  gun-boats  can  pass  from  the  Mississippi,  by  the  various 
canals  and  Lakes,  until  they  reach  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  by  the  most  cheap  and 
expeditious  route  that  scientific  and  practical  knowledge  may  develop. 

Mr.  SABINE,  of  Massachusetts,  proposed  the  name  of  George 
E.  Hill,  of  Sheffield,  Mass.,  as  a  delegate. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  until  three  o'clock  p.  M. 


AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

The  PRESIDENT  called  the  Convention  to  order  at  three  p.  M. 

Mr.  FOSTER,  of  Illinois,  presented  a  letter  from  Mr.  Benton, 
Auditor  of  the  canals  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in  reference  to 
the  financial  condition  of  those  works.  As  a  mark  of  respect  to 
the  high  source  from  which  it  emanated,  he  moved,  not  merely 
that  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Business,  but,  also,  that 
it  be  printed  among  the  proceedings  of  this  Convention.  (Appen- 
dix, F.) 

The  motion  was  agreed  to,  and  the  communication  ordered  to 
be  printed. 

Mr.  RUGGLES,  of  New  York,  from  the  Committee  on  Resolu- 
tions, reported  back  the  following : 

The  representatives  of  the  loyal  States,  assembled  in  National  Convention  at 
Chicago,  desirous  of  cementing  a  closer  Union,  of  perpetuating  our  Nationality 
forever,  of  providir>g  for  the  common  defense,  and  promoting  the  general  welfare 
of  our  whole  country,  adopt  the  following  resolutions: 

Resolved,  That  we  regard  the  enlargement  of  canals  between  the  Mississippi 
river  and  the  Atlantic,  with  canals  duly  connecting  the  Lakes,  as  of  great 
National,  Military,  and  Commercial  importance  ;  we  believe  such  enlargement  with 
dimensions  sufficient  to  pass  gun-boats  from  the  Mississippi  to  Lake  Michigan,  and 
from  the  Atlantic  to  and  from  the  Great  Lakes,  will  furnish  the  cheapest  and  most 
efficient  means  of  protecting  the  Northern  frontier,  and  at  the  same  time  will  pro- 
mote the  rapid  development  and  permanent  Union  of  our  whole  country. 

Resolved.,  That  these  works  are  demanded  alike  by  military  prudence,  political 
wisdom,  and  the  necessities  of  commerce;  such  works  will  be  not  only  national, 
but  continental,  and  their  early  accomplishment  is  required  by  every  principle  of 
sound  political  economy. 

Resolved^  That  such  national  highway  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Lakes,  as 
far  as  practicable  should  be  FBEE,  without  tolls  or  restrictions ;  and  we  should 


41 

deprecate  the  placing  this  great  national  thoroughfare  in  the  hands  of  any  private 
corporation,  or  State.  The  work  should  be  accomplished  by  National  credit,  and 
as  soon  as  the  cost  is  reimbursed  to  the  National  Treasury,  should  be  as  free  as 
the  Lakes  to  the  commerce  of  the  world. 

Mr.  WASHBURNE,  of  Illinois,  moved  to  amend  the  third  reso- 
lution by  adding  the  letter  "s"  to  the  word  "  highway,"  so  as  to 
make  it  read  "  highways." 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  GRINNELL,  of  Iowa,  moved  to  amend  the  first  resolution  by 
inserting  before  the  word  "  enlargement"  the  words  "construction 
and,"  so  as  to  make  it  read  "  the  construction  and  enlargement  of 
canals,"  and  to  make  a  similar  amendment  in  a  subsequent  part 
of  the  resolutions. 

Mr.  KELLOGG,  of  Illinois,  suggested  that  those  words  were  in- 
serted in  the  draft  by  the  Committee,  and  omitted  simply  by  a 
mistake  in  copying. 

The  amendment  was  made,  and  the  word  "the"  was  also  struck 
out  before  the  word  "canals." 

The  question  was  then  taken  on  the  resolutions,  and  they  were 
adopted  unanimously. 

Mr.  RUGGLES  also  reported  the  following : 

Resolved,  That  an  Executive  Committee,  of  one  from  each  State,  be  appointed 
by  the  President  of  this  Convention,  to  prepare  a  memorial  to  the  President,  and 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  presenting  the  views  of  this  Convention,  and 
urging  the  passage  of  the  laws  necessary  to  carry  them  into  full  effect,  with  power 
to  open  such  correspondence  as  may  he  expedient ;  and,  in  their  discretion,  to  call 
any  further  conventions.  Five  of  the  members  of  said  Committee,  at  any  meeting 
duly  notified  by  the  Chairman,  shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

Mr.  LITTLEJOHN  moved  to  amend,  by  making  the  resolution  read 
"two  delegates  from  each  State."  The  business  of  that  commit- 
tee would  be  of  a  very  important  character,  and  there  were  con- 
flicting interests  in  some  of  the  States.  He  thought  the  matter 
would  be  safer  in  the  hands  of  a  large,  than  in  the  hands  of  a  small, 
Committee. 

Mr.  KING  differed  from  his  colleague.  He  thought  it  safer  to 
leave  it  in  the  hands  of  one  gentleman  from  each  State,  who 
would  be  selected  for  his  intelligence  and  knowledge  of  the 
subject. 

The  question  was  taken  on  the  amendment,  and  it  was  disagreed 
to. 

The  question  recurred  on  the  resolution,  and  it  was  adopted. 

Mr.  WASHBURNE,  of  Illinois,  moved  to  re-consider  the  vote  by 
which  the  resolution  was  agreed  to,  and  also  moved  that  the 


42 

motion  to  re-consider  be  laid  upon  the  table.  The  latter  motion 
was  agreed  to. 

Gen.  WALBRIDGE  here  took  the  chair  as  temporary  presiding 
officer. 

Mr.  KELLOGG,  of  Illinois,  from  the  Committee  on  Resolutions, 
reported  back  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  the  report  of  the  survey  of  the  Illinois  and  Des-Plaines  rivers, 
executed  under  the  authority  of  Messrs.  Gooding  and  Preston,  be  referred  to  a 
special  committee  of  five,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Chair,  and  to  be  composed  of 
engineers  eminent  in  their  profession,  who  are  requested  to  report  as  to  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  work,  and  the  correctness  of  the  estimates. 

A  DELEGATE  FROM  ILLINOIS  moved  that  it  be  referred  to  the 
Business  Committee  to  be  appointed  by  this  Convention. 

Mr.  FOSTER,  of  Illinois,  explained.  A  recent  survey  had  been 
made  of  that  portion  of  the  Illinois  improvement  which  starts  at 
Joliet  and  ends  at  Chicago.  A  survey  of  the  rest  of  the  chain  had 
heretofore  been  completed.  The  resolution  only  contemplated  the 
appointment  of  five  engineers  to  examine  as  to  the  correctness  of 
those  estimates. 

Mr.  CHAMBERLAIN,  of  Ohio,  wished  to  know  what  objection 
there  was  to  have  the  matter  referred  to  the  Executive  Committee, 
and  have  the  report  made  as  a  whole. 

Mr.  FOSTER  explained  that  the  official  report  of  the  Illinois- 
river  improvement  had  been  already  submitted  to  Congress  ;  but 
they  had  not  an  official  report  of  the  Des-Plaines  portion  ;  and  he 
wished  to  have  the  survey  verified  as  to  its  correctness. 

Mr.  KELLOGG,  of  Illinois,  further  explained  the  matter.  The 
Committee  on  Naval  Affairs  in  the  House  of  Representatives  had 
unjustly  assailed  the  estimates  as  not  being  entitled  to  considera- 
tion. It  was  now  proposed  that  there  should  be  taken  from  vari- 
ous portions  of  the  United  States  five  civil  engineers,  who  might 
examine  these  estimates  and  set  the  matter  at  rest. 

The  motion  to  refer  to  the  Executive  Committee  was  withdrawn. 

Mr.  RUGGLES,  of  New  York,  entered  into  a  long  explanation  of 
the  matter.  As  his  friend  (Mr.  Kellogg)  had  just  observed,  the 
cost  of  this  great  chain  of  works  had  been  outrageously  exagge- 
rated by  a  hostile  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
That  Committee  had  made  a  report  which,  he  would  take  the 
liberty  of  asserting  here,  in  the  presence  of  this  American  multi- 
tude, was  a  most  unworthy  state-paper — a  slander  upon  the  State 
of  Illinois,  and  a  slander  on  the  State  of  New  York.  They  had 
taken  measures  in  the  State  of  New  York  to  prove  that  report  to 


43 

be  false  and  preposterous.  The  last  Legislature  had  directed  fur- 
ther surveys  to  show  the  utter  and  wanton  extravagance  of  the 
allegations  of  that  report,  that  the  proposed  enlargement  of  the 
locks  of  the  Erie  and  Oswego  canals,  with  the  necessary  altera- 
tions of  their  channels,  would  cost  twenty  millions  !  They  had, 
furthermore,  requested  their  Governor  to  ask  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  detail  an  officer  of  the  United  States  to  unite  in 
the  survey,  so  that  next  winter  they  would  have  the  means  of  nail- 
ing that  slander  to  the  counter.  He  was,  therefore,  in  favor  of  this 
resolution,  so  that  Illinois  might  have  the  same  advantage  as  New 
York. 

A  MEMBER  from  Wisconsin  renewed  the  motion  to  refer  the 
resolution  to  the  Executive  Committee.  He  should  like  to  know 
why  it  was  that  that  Committee  could  not  examine  this  subject, 
and  appoint,  if  necessary,  competent  surveyors  to  survey  all  those 
routes.  Why  should  they  attempt  to  commit  this  Convention  to 
one  route  in  preference  to  another?  The  Fox  and  Wisconsin  river- 
improvement  wanted  estimates  made,  too.  And  so  did  others. 
The  fair  way  was  to  refer  that  resolution  to  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee, and  let  that  Committee  take  such  measures  as  would  be  just 
to  all  the  routes,  instead  of  undertaking  seemingly  to  indorse  one 
particular  route  in  preference  to  others. 

Mr.  CHAMBERLAIN,  of  Ohio,  thought  it  would  have  been  better 
if  this  resolution  had  not  have  been  offered  at  all,  so  that  the 
Executive  Committee  might  have  been  left  perfectly  untrammeled 
to  look  over  the  whole  ground.  But  as  one  particular  route  had 
been  presented,  he  proposed  that  the  whole  of  the  routes  be  pre- 
sented in  the  same  manner.  There  were  half  a  dozen  routes  in  the 
State  of  Ohio  through  which  they  would  like  to  have  canals  con- 
structed. Let  them  all  have  their  chance.  Let  the  Committee 
appoint  engineers  to  report  upon  them,  and  they  would  settle  down 
on  the  right  channel.  He  did  not  see  why  gentlemen  were  afraid 
to  trust  the  matter  to  the  hands  of  the  Committee.  He  was  per- 
fectly willing,  so  far  as  Ohio  was  concerned,  to  indorse  this  route 
to  the  fullest  extent.  At  the  same  time,  he  claimed  that  the  routes 
eastward  from  here  should  be  properly  indorsed  also.  And  if  the 
people  of  Wisconsin  wanted  their  routes  examined,  let  them 
have  that  privilege. 

Dr.  BRAINARD,  of  Illinois,  said  that  so  far  as  Illinois  was  con- 
cerned, they  were  perfectly  willing  that  it  should  be  made  the  duty 
of  the  Committee  of  Engineers  to  examine  all  works  contemplated, 


44 

and  coming  within  the  purview  of  the  action  of  this  Convention. 
But  the  reason  why  they  ask  this  to  be  referred  to  a  Committee  of 
Engineers  was,  that  it  was  conceived  that  engineers  were  the  only 
persons  capable  of  passing  on  the  engineering  parts  of  the  ques- 
tion. 

They  do  not  propose  to  put  the  Convention  to  the  expense  of 
re-surveying.  They  had  all  the  plans,  profiles,  sections  and  esti- 
mates; and  all  they  asked  was  to  have  a  Committee  of  Inquiry  to 
examine  these  data.  If  other  works  were  surveyed  in  the  same 
way,  and  the  surveys  were  brought  forward,  they  could  also  be 
presented  and  passed  upon  by  the  same  Committee. 

A  DELEGATE  from  New  York  thought  there  was  no  necessity  for 
the  Committee  in  reference  to  the  canals  of  New  York.  An  En- 
gineer of  the  General  Government,  in  conection  with  the  State 
Engineer,  had  made  a  survey  of  the  Niagara  ship-canal,  and  it 
would  be  disrespectful  to  have  their  works  revised  by  a  Committee 
of  Inquiry. 

A  DELEGATE  from  Wisconsin  spoke  against  the  appointment  of 
the  Committee  of  Engineers.  The  Fox  and  Wisconsin  route  had 
been  surveyed,  and  he  said  they  did  not  want  the  indorsement  of 
the  route,  but  neither  did  they  want  the  implied  indorsement  of 
any  other  route.  They  expected  that  the  Executive  Committee 
would  appoint  engineers  to  examine  all  the  surveys.  They  could 
show  that  Wisconsin  could  be  connected  with  the  Mississippi  for 
$2,000,000 ;  while  it  would  require  $20,000,000  to  make  the  conec- 
tion by  the  Illinois-river  route. 

Mr.  FOSTER,  of  Illinois,  hoped  it  would  not  be  supposed  for  a 
moment  that  he  bad  any  sinister  motive  in  introducing  the  resolu- 
tion. He  was  in  favor  of  the  improvements  demanded  by  Iowa 
and  Wisconsin.  If  we  could  satisfy  the  country  that  the  Illinois 
improvement  would  cost  a  fixed  sum,  it  was  information  greatly  to 
be  desired,  and  would  form  the  basis  of  future  calculations.  If 
the  delegates  from  Wisconsin  were  prepared  to  give  similar  inform- 
ation in  regard  to  their  route,  it  was  certainly  to  be  desired.  If 
he  had  had  any  idea  that  his  resolution  would  have  given  rise  to 
debate,  he  would  not  have  introduced  it,  and  now  he  was  willing 
to  withdraw  it. 

A  DELEGATE  from  New  York  moved  as  a  substitute,  that  all  dele- 
gations be  invited  to  procure  surveys  and  estimates  of  the  routes 
which  they  are  in  favor  of,  and  have  them  submitted,  with  the 
one  already  provided,  to  the  Committee  of  Engineers,  who  are  to 
make  a  report  on  all  the  propositions. 


45 

The  DELEGATE  from  Wisconsin  accepted  that  for  the  motion 
which  he  had  submitted. 

Another  DELEGATE  from  New  York  moved,  as  an  amendment,  to 
give  to  the  friends  of  other  routes  the  same  length  of  time  to  pro- 
cure their  surveys  and  estimates,  that  the  friends  of  the  Illinois- 
river  route  had  had. 

A  DELEGATE  proposed  to  lay  the  whole  subject  on  the  table. 
The  Executive  Committee  to  be  appointed  would  have  full  power 
over  the  whole  subject.  This  Committee  should  not  indorse  any 
particular  route. 

Mr.  FOSTER  remarked  that  the  question  had  awakened  so  much 
sectional  feeling  that  he  would  now  ask  leave  to  withdraw  the 
resolution. 

The  resolution  was  accordingly  withdrawn. 

A  DELEGATE  from  New  York  submitted  a  resolution,  that  the 
friends  of  the  various  routes  of  communication  between  the  Mis- 
sissippi river  and  the  Atlantic,  be  invited  to  procure  surveys  and 
estimates  of  the  cost  of  the  different  works,  and  submit  them  to  a 
committee  of  five  engineers,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Convention. 

A  MEMBER.     At  whose  expense  ? 

The  NEW  YORK  DELEGATE.     At  their  own  expense. 

After  some  remarks  and  suggestions,  the  resolution  was  with- 
drawn, and  thus  the  whole  matter  dropped. 

Mr.  S.  B.  RUGGLES,  of  New  York,  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion : 

Resolved,  That  thia  Convention  is  of  opinion  that  the  increased  stimulus  to  be 
given  to  agriculture  and  commerce,  by  cheapening  the  transportation  of  Western 
products  through  the  proposed  enlarged  canals,  will  so  far  increase  the  foreign  com- 
merce of  the  country,  that  the  import  duties  on  the  return  cargoes  will  very  far 
exceed  the  interest  ou  the  cost  of  the  proposed  works,  and  pro  vide  a  fund  for  its  rapid 
reimbursement. 

In  asking  the  attention  of  the  Convention,  for  a  few  moments, 
to  the  subject  of  this  resolution,  Mr.  Ruggles  expressed  his  fears 
that  it  might  possibly  interfere  with  the  rather  singular  desire  of 
a  portion  of  the  audience  to  listen  to  political  harangues  on  the 
rebellion  and  similar  topics.  He  would  only  claim  for  the  resolu- 
tion the  comparative  merit  of  being  somewhat  kindred  to  the 
objects  for  which  this  Canal  Convention  was  assembled,  and  would 
seek  to  enforce  its  passage  only  by  a  brief  statement  of  a  few 
simple  facts. 

Much  had  been  said  as  to  the  merits  and  necessities  of  various 
channels  of  national  intercommunication,  having  for  their  object 
the  military  defense  of  the  country,  and  also  the  cheapening  of 
the  transit  of  food  to  the  seaboard  ;  but,  as  yet,  little  or  nothing, 


46 

as  to  their  probable  cost,  or  the  means  possessed  by  the  nation  for 
reimbursing  it. 

He  should  not  seek  on  this  occasion  to  sura  up  the  various  ele- 
ments of  national  and  fiscal  strength  to  be  called  into  being  by 
the  construction  of  the  proposed  works — and  especially  and  mani- 
festly the  creation  and  increase  of  large  and  populous,  and  pros- 
perous communities,  rich  in  every  species  of  property  and  busi- 
ness, and  able  to  contribute  liberally  in  taxes  and  imposts  to  the 
support  of  the  Government,  but  confining  himself  within  the 
narrowest  bounds,  he  should  seek  to  specify  and  put  his  finger 
precisely  on  the  very  moneys  with  which  the  nation  could  imme- 
diately pay  for  the  proposed  works,  and  which  would  be,  more- 
over, furnished  by  the  works  themselves. 

For  this  purpose  he  begged  to  repeat,  and  he  stood  ready  to 
prove  the  truth  of  the  proposition  contained  in  the  resolutions 
now  under  consideration,  to  wit :  "  that  the  import  duties,  to  be 
paid  into  the  national  treasury  upon  the  return  cargoes,  pur- 
chased by  the  additional  amount  of  food  to  be  exported,  will  not 
only  exceed  the  interest  on  the  cost  of  all  the  works  needed  to 
secure  that  increase,  but  will  provide  a  fund  for  its  rapid  re- 
imbursement" . 
I  know  not,  said  Mr.  Ruggles,  how  to  state  this  proposition 
more  plainly  or  precisely,  nor  can  I  believe  that  there  can  be 
found  in  all  this  assemblage  a  single  individual  so  dull  or  so  pre- 
judiced, as  not  to  see  and  admit  its  truth.  But  if  there  be  any 
such,  let  him  now  rise  and  show  himself.  Let  him  deny,  if  he 
can,  or  dare,  that  every  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  food  exported 
to  Europe  will  there  purchase  its  equivalent  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  foreign  products  in  exchange,  and  that  this  return  cargo 
will  pay  into  our  national  treasury,  under  the  existing  tariff,  an 
average  duty  of  at  least  thirty  per  cent.,  or  three  hundred  dollars, 
and  that,  too,  in  gold.  I  pause,  said  Mr.  Ruggles,  for  an  answer. 
Does  no  one  deny  it  ?  Can  no  one  deny  it?  In  discharging  the 
official  duty  committed  to  me  by  my  State,  I  have  repeatedly  pro- 
pounded the  same  question,  at  Washington  and  elsewhere,  to 
eminent  legislators  and  statesmen,  and  have  earnestly  besought  an 
answer,  as  I  do  now  and  here,  from  you  or  any  of  you.  I  never 
yet  found  the  man  to  deny  the  proposition. 

Some,  it  is  true,  seeking  to  evade  its  force,  have  skulked  away, 
under  the  cry  that  the  country  was  at  war,  and  had  no  money  but 
for  war;  that  it  really  could  not  afford  the  means  even  to  enrich 
itself — as  if  a  period  of  war  and  lavish  expenditure  was  not  the 
very  time  and  the  very  reason  for  replenishing,  to  the  utmost,  our 
wasting  fiscal  strength.  As  well  might  the  farmer  refuse  to  sow 
his  land  or  seek  for  a  crop  because  one  of  his  sons  had  gone  to  the 
war.  Political  philosophers  have  also  been  found  so  deeply  im- 
bued with  the  abstractions  of  the  Southern  school,  just  now  a  little 
out  of  vogue,  as  to  deny  the  constitutional  authority  of  the  Nation, 
thus  to  fill  the  national  treasury  and  re-invigorate  the  national 
strength;  while  others  again,  in  a  spirit  of  mean  and  narrow 


47 

sectionality,  have  thought  it  patriotic  to  excite  local  jealousies 
against  the  proposed  highways  for  the  national  commerce,  as  tend- 
ing to  lessen  the  value  of  existing  channels  in  other  localities,  and 
have  especially  asserted  the  impiety  of  attempting  to  compete 
with  the  Mississippi  as  the  stream  specially  designed  for  our  in- 
ternal trade  by  God  himself.  But,  I  repeat,  not  one  of  them  has 
yet  been  found  hardy  enough  to  deny  the  simple  fact,  that  every 
thousand  dollars  exported  in  food  will  virtually  bring  back,  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  another  thousand  dollars  on  which  three  hun- 
dred dollars  of  duty  will  be  paid  to  the  nation  in  gold. 

Fellow  citizens  of  the  fertile  and  mighty  West!  Need  I  say, 
for  do  you  not  already  know,  that  it  is  you,  and  you  only,  who 
now  fiscally  support  the  Government  of  this  American  Union  ? 
For  is  it  not  you,  and  only  you,  who  now  practically  furnish  the 
products  for  export  which  bring  back  through  the  returning  im- 
ports that  golden  stream  of  duties  by  which  alone  the  public  credit 
is  now  supported,  in  this  hour  of  eifort  and  struggle?  The  time 
was  when  the  cotton  of  the  South  contributed  largely  to  the  work 
of  filling  the  treasury.  Its  day  has  passed,  at  least  for  a  season. 
Food  has  taken  its  place.  Our  foreign  exports  now  consist  almost 
exclusively  of  food,  or  its  indirect  product.  It  is  true  that  the 
tables  show  a  moderate  export  of  the  products  of  the  forest  (but 
the  largest  portion  even  of  that  is  furnished  by  the  West,)  and  a 
considerable  amount  (about  thirty  millions)  of  the  manufactures 
of  the  Eastern  States,  but  the  latter  is  only  the  reproduction  in 
another  form,  of  the  food  from  the  West,  which  feeds  the  manu- 
facturers, and  without  which  not  a  water-whee-1  or  a  spinning 
jenny  would  move.  In  truth,  AMERICAN  FOOD  has  now  become  the 
very  substratum,  the  vital,  vivifying  principle  of  AMERICAN  COM- 
MERCE. The  food  of  the  vast  interior,  once  derided  as  the  dream 
of  the  enthusiast,  no  longer  floats  in  the  regions  even  of  enlight- 
ened faith  or  prophecy,  but  now  stands  before  the  world,  crys- 
talized  into  a  solid  and  unchangeable  reality — an  immense  and 
unmistakable  fact.  It  towers  high,  in  plain  sight,  in  the  enormous 
masses  of  the  cereals,  and  the  product  of  animals  fed  by  those 
cereals,  now  sent  down  to  the  ocean  by  the  eight  great  Food-pro- 
ducing States,  so  richly  clustered  around  the  Lakes  and  the  Upper 
Mississippi. 

My  friends,  every  subject  has  its  one  great  central,  dominant 
idea — like  gravitation  in  the  solar  system.  The  central  truth  in 
the  vast  subject  now  before  us  is  this,  that  the  gigantic  masses  of 
food,  which  are  already  radiating  from  this  unrivalled  group  of 
States,  are  to  feed  not  only  all  the  Union  around  it,  but  a  large 
portion  of  the  world  across  the  Atlantic. 

But  let  us,  before  proceeding  to  take  in  this  whole  idea,  pause 
for  a  moment.  Let  us  take  in  only  a  minor  portion  of  the  subject, 
and  see  by  a  few  figures  the  influence  which  that  minor  portion 
alone  already  exerts  on  the  fiscal  condition  of  the  nation.  Last 
year  our,  and  your,  good  city  of  New  York,  (for  it  is  quite  as 
much  yours  as  ours)  sent  to  Europe  fifty  millions  of  your  cereals 


48 

in  grain.  They  purchased  in  return  at  least  $50,000,000  worth  of 
foreign  merchandise,  which  merchandise  paid  in  duties  to  our 
esteemed  friend,  Mr.  Secretary  CHASE,  at  least  fifteen  millions  of 
dollars  in  gold.  Let  me  ask,  what  would  become  of  Mr.  CHASE 
without  you  of  the  West,  who  produce  this  grain,  and  us  of  the 
East,  who  carry  it  to  the  seaboard  and  thence  across  the  ocean  ? 
Without  your  broad  and  fertile  fields,  and  our  heavily  laden 
canah,  railways  and  ships,  his  government  would  not  be  solvent  a 
single  day.  It  is  you,  and  only  you,  the  men  of  the  Food-produc- 
ing West,  that  furnish  "the  stuff"  to  pay  his  debts.  Fellow 
citizens,  the  time  has  come  for  you  to  take  your  own  measure,  and 
fully  to  claim  your  height  to  the  last  inch.  But,  in  this  vast  audi- 
ence, is  there  one  to  be  found  with  head  or  heart  large  enough,  or 
with  eye  clear  or  strong  enough  to  discern,  to  survey,  or  to  com- 
prehend the  whole  marvellous  future  of  your  inevitable  export  of 
food  ?  Who  would  dare  attempt  it  ?  Why,  last  year,  when  you 
had  only  rudely  scratched  a  few  patches  of  the  surface  of  your 
boundless  prairies,  you  sent  down  through  Lake  Erie  one  hundred 
and  eight  millions  of  bushels  of  grain,  to  knock  at  the  gates  of 
the  New  York  canals  and  nearly  choke  their  channels;  and  yet  it 
was  but  little  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  520,000,000  bushels,  the 
actual  product,  for  the  year,  of  your  teeming  soil. 

But  where  shall  we  find  an  adequate  measure,  even  for  the 
scanty  portion  thus  finding  its  way  to  the  sea  ?  Do  you  really 
know — are  all  of  you  fully  aware — (and  if  you  are  not,  you  can 
ascertain  the  fact  in  five  minutes  by  measuring  a  barrel)  that  these 
108,000,000  of  bushels,  placed  in  a  line  of  barrels  crosswise,  would 
span  the  Atlantic  and  reach  nearly  to  the  confines  of  Asia  ?  My 
friends,  do  not  become  prematurely  excited,  or  wait  at  least  until 
you  find  that  your  whole  yearly  product  of  520,000,000  of  bushels 
thus  barreled  up  would  encircle  the  globe.  You  will  thus  find 
somewhat  of  an  adequate  measure  for  your  crop — somewhat  of  a 
proper  yard-stick  with  which  to  march  into  the  future. 

For  who,  in  all  this  large  assemblage,  regards  for  a  moment  these 
520,000,000  bushels  as  the  full  measure,  or  even  a  tithe  of  your 
product,  when  the  whole  of  your  260,000,000  acres  shall  be  brought 
into  full  and  careful  cultivation?  True,  it  already  exceeds  the 
whole  cereal  product  of  the  British  islands,  and  nearly  approaches 
that  of  carefully  cultivated  and  carefully  governed  France ;  but 
can  a  man  be  found  upon  these  magnificent  Western  waters  small 
enough,  or  stupid  enough  to  assert,  that  these  eight  great  States  have 
now  reached  their  full  maturity,  have  now  got  all  their  growth? 
What  human  being  in  his  senses,  not  wholly  idiotic,  or  utterly 
blinded  by  political  bigotry,  or  lust  of  political  power,  could 
assert  that  this  God-given,  exuberant  and  all  but  virgin  West 
has  now  reached  its  "culminating  point"?  For  one,  I  stand 
awe-struck  and  amazed  at  the  immeasurable  prospect  opening 
before  us.  I  can  see  nothing  smaller,  nothing  more  diminutive, 
nothing  less  stupendous,  than  a  yearly  product  of  cereals,  to 
be  measured  not,  as  now,  by  hundreds,  but  by  thousands  of  millions 


49 

of  bushels — a  result  so  vast,  so  solemn,  so  fraught  with  consequences 
so  momentous  to  our  nation  and  to  the  world,  that  I  can  but  bow 
with  reverential  gratitude  before  such  a  wonderful  manifestation 
of  the  providence  of  our  great  Creator.  Never  before  in  human 
history  did  He  lay  out  a  garden  so  wide-spread  and  fertile ;  never 
before  did  He  provide  a  granary  so  magnificent  for  the  use  of  man. 

For  what  was  ancient  Sicily,  the  "  granary  of  Rome,"  or  the 
fertile  plains  of  the  Po,  or  the  exuberant  valley  of  the  Nile  itself, 
compared  with  this  our  great  continental  garden,  pouring  forth 
yearly  volumes  of  food  so  enormous  and  yet  so  inevitably,  resist- 
lessly  increasing?  In  view  of  such  a  power  to  feed  our  race, 
who  will  venture  to  depict  or  limit  the  commercial  and  the  politi- 
cal destiny  of  this  unequaled  portion  of  the  earth  ?  Was  it  thus 
specially  endowed  and  set  aside  by  the  Great  Architect  of  Nations 
merely  to  feed  the  petty  State  of  Illinois,  great  as  it  is,  and  large 
enough  to  hold  a  half  dozen  Sicilies  ;  or  the  still  more  petty  State 
of  New  York,  with  all  its  golden  gates  of  commerce ;  or  rocky 
little  New  England,  with  its  thousand  and  one  "  notions  "  on  land, 
and  its  ever  "  victorious  industry"  both  on  land  and  sea;  or  even 
the  whole  majestic  Union  of  these  temporarily  jarring  American 
States,  soon,  I  trust,  to  be  happily  pacified  ? 

No,  my  fellow  countrymen,  the  manifest  destiny  and  high  office 
of  this  splendid  granary,  of  which  this  Chicago  of  yours  and  of 
ours  is  the  brilliant  centre,  stands  out  plain  as  the  sun  in  heaven. 
It  is  unmistakably  marked  by  the  finger  of  God  on  these  wide-spread 
lands  and  waters,  that  it  is  to  be  our  special  duty  to  feed  not  our- 
selves of  this  New  World  alone,  but  that  venerable,  moss-covered 
fatherland — that  old  father  world  of  ours  across  the  ocean — as 
the  pious  Grecian  daughter  nourished  her  aged  sire — to  carry 
abundant  food,  and  with  it  the  means  of  higher  civilization  and 
refinement,  and  that  too  in  the  truest  Christian  spirit,  to  that  over- 
crowded but  under-fed  European  Christendom  to  which  we  owe 
our  common  origin.  Let  us  then  come  fully  up  to  the  measure  of 
this  world-wide  idea.  Let  us,  by  cheapening  the  transit  of  food 
to  our  seaboard,  prepare  vigorously  to  carry  out  the  predestined 
and  providential  arrangement  of  God  himself  to  increase  the 
happiness  of  man. 

And  now,  my  esteemed  friends,  let  us  make  a  slight  descent; 
let  us  talk  a  little  about  hogs,  and  the  glorious  West  as  a  gigantic 
hog-pen.  I  must  really  beg  you  not  to  laugh,  for  I  am  profoundly 
serious,  and  do  earnestly  assure  you  that  the  hog  is  a  very  praise- 
worthy, interesting,  and  important  animal.  For  how,  let  me  beg 
to  ask,  could  you  possibly,  without  his  benevolent  and  efficient  aid 
and  co-operation,  bring  down  the  whole  of  these  five  hundred 
millions  of  bushels  of  grain  to  the  sea?  How  could  such  a  moun- 
tain mass  of  cereals,  and  especially  of  Indian  corn,  ever  be  sold 
or  disposed  of?  But,  thanks  to  the  ingenuity  of  man  and  the 
necessity  of  the  case,  the  process  has  been  found.  The  crop  is 
condensed  and  reduced  in  bulk  by  feeding  it  into  an  animal  form 
more  portable.  The  hog  eats  the  corn,  and  Europe  eats  the  hog. 
4 


50 

Corn  thus   becomes  incarnate ;  for  what  is  a  hog  but  fifteen  or 
twenty  bushels  of  corn  on  four  legs  ? 

It  is  among  the  many  providential  features,  of  which  this  subject 
is  full,  that  a  striking  revolution  has  taken  place  just  within  the 
last  two  troubled  years,  in  the  destiny  of  the  American  hog.  By 
a  new  process  of  curing  or  preparation,  brought  in,  as  I  am  told, 
from  England,  the  animal  has  suddenly  become  extensively 
marketable  in  Europe. 

Heretofore,  the  quadruped  has  passed  after  death  into  brine, 
obedient,  perhaps,  to  the  traditions  of  New  England,  where  a 
pork-barrel  in  every  family  is  a  sacred  institution.  But  Europe 
did  not  relish,  and  would  not  eat  the  hog  in  brine — so  that  a  great 
hog-reformation  is  now  in  vigorous  progress  through  these  interior 
States,  in  packing  the  animal,  not  in  brine,  nor  in  a  barrel,  but  in 
dry  salt,  in  a  light,  cheap  wooden  box.  In  that  shape  Europe  has 
recently  consented  largely  to  eat  him.  But  let  us  ascertain 
precisely  and  statistically  just  how  far  the  tickling  the  palate  of 
the  Old  World  has  already  advanced.  In  the  year  1859,  the 
exports  of  pork  in  the  box  (barbarously  denominated  "  cut  meats" 
in  the  official  tables)  were  only  nine  millions  of  pounds.  In  round 
numbers  they  rose  to  twenty  millions  in  1860,  to  seventy  millions 
in  1861,  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  millions  in  1862,  and  during 
the  present  year,  ]  863,  will  probably  very  nearly  ascend  to  three 
hundred  millions  of  pounds.  Inverting  the^calculation,  and  bring- 
ing the  "  cut  meats"  back  to  "  hog"  again,  this  export  is  equiva- 
lent to  an  army  of  one  million  and  a  half  of  these  interesting 
animals,  marching  across  the  ocean.  After  this,  will  you,  can  you 
laugh  at  the  hog  ? 

At  any  rate,  you  will  consent  to  be  more  serious  when  you  per- 
ceive the  fiscal  effects  of  such  a  swinish  exodus  on  our  national 
treasury.  These  three  hundred  millions  of  pounds  are  worth  in 
Europe  thirty  millions  of  dollars,  sending  back  imports,  paying  in 
duties  nine  millions  of  dollars  in  gold. 

Nor  is  this  quite  all.  We  have  a  little  more  of  "  the  whole 
hog  "  in  a  fiscal  point  of  view.  The  skill  of  our  artificers  in  pork 
expresses  out  the  very  quintessence  of  the  creature  into  lard,  an 
humble  element  which  has  suddenly  risen  from  its  ancient  culinary 
office  of  making  cakes  and  greasing  kitchen  utensils,  to  the  more 
exalted  duty  of  illuminating  houses,  and  oiling  the  millions  of 
wheels  of  our  locomotives,  and  other  labor-saving  machines.  Not 
only  has  it  literally  smoothed  our  way  to  this  very  Convention, 
in  this  great  hog-manufacturing  city,  but  it  is  exerting  its  world- 
wide influence  in  relieving  the  whales  within  the  Arctic  and 
Antartic  circles  from  the  indefatigable  pursuit  of  that  same 
rock-bound,  but  vigorous  New  England. 

But  to  descend,  or  rather  to  ascend  again  into  figures — the 
foreign  export  of  lard  has  so  kept  pace  with  the  hog  in  box,  that 
New  York  during  the  present  year  will  send  out  nearly  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  millions  of  pounds — worth  abroad  at  least  fifteen 
millions  of  dollars — bringing  back  duty-paying  imports,  yielding 


51 

the  further  amount  of  four  and  a  half  millions  of  gold  to  the 
national  treasury.  Do  you  not  see,  my  friends,  how  gallantly 
and  patriotically,  in  Mr.  CHASE'S  great  financial  struggle,  the  hog 
has  come  to  the  rescue  ?  Respect  him  then,  I  beg,  as  your  and 
our  great  co-operator  and  much  esteemed  associate  in  the  great 
business  of  removing,  in  fact  of  "rooting  out  "  every  impediment 
to  our  internal  commerce. 

But  again — this  most  necessary  and  valuable  process  of  trans- 
muting our  vast  and  overwhelming  supplies  of  Indian  corn  and 
other  grains  into  animal  forms,  holds  true  to  a  large  extent  with 
the  countless  herds  of  horned  cattle,  so  richly  fed  on  our  Western 
prairies,  only  to  be  hurried  off  to  the  great  beef-eating  cities  and 
communities  on  the  Atlantic.  The  ox,  now  on  the  dinner  table  in 
our  great  metropolis,  was  feeding  but  forty-eight  hours  before  on 
the  Mississippi ;  and  thus  equally  with  the  hog  plays  his  patriotic 
part  in  swelling  the  mighty  stream  of  our  domestic  and  foreign 
commerce. 

I  might  proceed  yet  further,  and  but  for  my  dread  of  the  dis- 
pleasure of  our  temperance  friends,  might  trace  our  Indian  corn 
onward  and  upward  into  its  spiritualized  condition,  furnishing 
whisky  and  alcohol,  by  millions  on  millions  of  gallons,  not  only  to 
our  own  thirsty  countrymen,  but  largely  to  France,  thence  to  be 
returned  to  us  as  genuine  Cognac  ;  another  striking  proof  of  the 
value  of  our  corn,  in  animating  and  inspiriting  our  foreign  com- 
merce ;  but  I  will  detain  you  no  longer. 

My  object  in  these  remarks  has  only  been  to  vindicate  the  fiscal 
truth  stated  in  the  resolution  now  before  you.  In  so  doing,  I  have 
mainly  sought  to  exhibit  the  imperative  and  solemn  obligation  of 
our  National  Government,  promptly  to  exert  all  its  power  to 
cheapen  to  the  utmost,  the  transit  of  this  great  mass  of  agricul- 
tural wealth  to  the  ocean.  The  necessity  for  thus  invigorating  our 
fiscal  resources  is  so  plain  and  so  transcendent,  as  to  override  all 
the  prejudices  and  all  the  doubts  of  that  pestilent  school  of  politi- 
cal thinkers,  who  formerly  exerted  so  pernicious  an  influence  in 
our  national  councils.  The  only  sensible  question  now  is,  can 
or  cannot  the  nation  afford  thus  to  benefit  its  fiscal  condition  ;  thus 
to  swell,  and  enrich  its  great  streams  of  national  commerce  ;  thus 
to  reward  and  encourage  the  industry  of  the  American  people, 
and  especially  at  a  moment  like  the  present,  when  the  hand  of 
taxation  must  necessarily  and  permanently  be  laid  heavily  upon 
them  ?  Surely  a  paternal  government,  in  imposing  such  a  burthen, 
would  do  wisely  in  strengthening  the  ability  of  the  people  to 
bear  it. 

The  cost  of  all  the  works,  for  which  the  aid  of  the  Government 
will  probably  be  solicited  by  this  Convention,  will  not  exceed 
twenty-five  millions,  or  thirty  at  the  utmost,  and  even  that  is  not 
asked,  in  money,  but  only  in  the  six  per  cent,  bonds  of  the  Govern- 
ment, payable  in  twenty  years. 

The  yearly  interest  even  on  thirty  millions  would  be  but 
$1,800,000;  whereas,  every  $10,000,000,  added  to  our  agricultural 


52 

exports,  will  yearly  yield  in  return  duties  $3,000,000,  fully  meeting 
the  interest,  and  amply  providing  a  fund  for  rapidly  reimbursing 
the  principal.  But  who,  with  the  facts  now  before  us,  and  the 
reason  that  God  has  given  him,  could  think  for  a  moment  of  limit- 
ing that  increase  to  ten  millions  ?  Rely  upon  it,  that  long  before 
the  twenty-year  bonds  shall  fall  due,  the  increase  will  far  more 
probably  exceed  one  hundred  millions,  if  not  a  much  larger  amount. 
The  Government  bonds  to  be  issued  for  the  comparatively  trifling 
sum  required,  will  melt  away  like  snow  flakes  before  the  rising 
sun,  while  the  wonder-working  channels  of  commerce  and 
defense,  fully  paid  for  and  exempt  from  debt  or  burthen,  will 
remain,  through  the  coming  ages,  to  exert  their  beneficent  and 
benignant  power,  advancing  and  securing  in  constantly  increasing 
measure,  the  prosperity,  strength,  and  happiness  of  the  American 
people. 

The  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  Convention  by  unanimous 
acclamation. 

Mr.  DRAKE,  of  Missouri,  offered  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Convention  are  due  and  are  hereby  tendered 
to  the  President,  for  the  able,  courteous,  and  dignified  manner  in  which  he  has  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  the  Chair. 

The  resolution  was  carried  unanimously. 
The  PRESIDENT  then  responded  as  follows : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention:  For  this  kind  expression  which 
you  have  seen  fit  to  tender  to  me,  I  beg  you  will  accept  my  undissem- 
bled  and  cordial  thanks.  In  after  times,  whatever  my  lot  in  life,  it 
will  be  to  me  a  pleasant  reminiscence  that  I  had  the  honor  of  meet- 
ing and  presiding  over  so  large,  and  so  intelligent  a  Convention, 
representing  the  substantial  business  and  commercial  interests  of 
the  country,  as  has  here  assembled.  I  shall  carry  it  with  me  as  a 
proud  recollection  in  after  life.  I  beg  you  to  believe  that,  in  what- 
ever position  I  may  be  placed,  however  humble  may  be  my  acts, 
they  will  always  be  devoted  to  developing  the  resources  of  our 
mighty  country,  and  advancing  it  in  its  material  interests.  You 
may  leave  New  England  out  in  the  cold,  if  you  please  ;  but,  Sir, 
she  has  a  warm  and  generous  heart,  which  will  beat  responsive  to 
the  vast  and  majestic  West.  Nay,  you  may  sever,  if  you  will,  all 
her  water-communications  and  her  railroads;  still,  she  will  cling  to 
the  generous  and  patriotic  West  as  she  will  cling  to  all  the  Union. 
Indeed,  when  I  am  here  in  your  midst,  I  am  absolutely  puzzled  to 
know  how  New  England  is  to  be  separated  from  the  West.  The 
only  complaint  I  have  to  make  against  so  many  of  your  good  citi- 
zens hire,  is  that  they  have  deserted  New  England  to  come  to  you. 
They  form  a  connection  which  nothing  can  sever.  You  are  bone 
of  our  bone  and  flesh  of  our  flesh.  All  that  interests  you  interests 
us,  and  all  your  interests  are  ours — one  interest  and  one  destiny 
must  alike  await  us. 


53 

Gentlemen,  allow  me  to  congratulate  you  upon  the  unity  and 
harmony  of  your  deliberations,  which  will  exert  a  moral  power 
throughout  the  country,  and  to  wish  you  a  safe  and  pleasant  return 
to  your  homes  and  families. 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  I  would  ask  whether  the  Business  Committee  has 
anything  before  it  ? 

Mr.  WALBBIDGE.  That  Committee  is  exhausted.  It  has  no 
business  before  it. 

Mr.  RIDDLE.  I  would  suggest,  then,  that  the  Committee  of  one 
from  each  State  is  the  next  thing  in  order. 

While  the  President  was  occupied  in  designating  the  Executive 
Committee,  several  distinguished  delegates  were  called  for. 

Gen.  JOHN  COCHRANE,  of  New  York,  was  introduced  as  one  who 
talked  very  well,  but  who  fought  better. 

Gen.  COCHKANE  said  that  he  would  rather  fight  than  talk.  The 
little,  therefore,  which  he  would  submit  to  them  now  would  be 
more  of  the  military,  than  of  the  civic  cast.  He  congratulated  the 
Convention  and  the  country  at  the  auspicious  conclusion  of  these 
proceedings.  The  Convention  had  avoided  the  rock  which  threat- 
ened it  with  danger,  and  had  laid  a  solid  basis  for  a  work  of  mili- 
tary defense,  without  regard  to  commercial  advantages.  Indeed, 
there  were  those,  himself  among  them,  who  were  in  great  doubt 
how  to  distinguish  between  military  defense  and  commercial  advant- 
ages. This  Convention  had  adopted  a  platform  which  would  be 
copied  by  future  political  parties  in  this  country — the  great  platform 
of  progress  and  of  commercial  wealth.  It  was  that  which  was  to 
inspire  them  with  vigor,  to  nourish  the  future  gigantic  growth  of 
this  great  country,  and  to  teach  this  whole  continent  that  it  is  ours 
beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  ours  by  the  nerve  and  strength  of 
our  good  right  hand,  won  from  the  soil  by  the  muscle  of  our  fathers, 
the  sturdy  yeomanry  of  the  country. 

They  had  to  teach  the  world  this  other  fact,  that  in  truth 

"  Westward  the  Course  of  Empire  takes  its  way ;" 

That  it  was  located  on  these  Western  plains,  here  in  this  salu- 
brious climate,  under  these  propitious  skies,  on  this  teeming 
earth.  They  stood  here,  as  the  great  devotees  and  priests  of 
that  commerce,  which  was  revolutionizing  and  impelling  forward 
in  its  progress  the  destiny  of  this  Western  world.  The  Con- 
vention had  done  well.  It  had  linked  the  fair  East  to  the  glow- 
ing West;  and  they  would  behold,  at  no  distant  day,  that  Siamese 
ligament — the  falls  of  Niagara — which  should  connect  the  East 
with  her  twin  sister  of  the  West. 


54 

Gen.  WALBRIDGE,  of  New  York.  I  am  requested  by  the  Presi- 
dent to  submit  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  liberal-minded  citizens  of  Chicago  are  entitled  to  the  best 
thanks  of  the  visitors  to  the  city,  for  the  rich  and  splendid  provision  made  for  the 
accommodation  and  entertainment  of  this  Convention. 

The  resolution  was  carried  by  acclamation. 
The  President  next  introduced  Governor  WASHBUKNE,  of  Maine, 
who  addressed  the  Convention. 

The  North-east  State  had  sent  her  representatives  here  to  take 
counsel  with  others  in  respect  to  the  needs  and  rights  of  the  West, 
and  she  rejoiced  to  declare  her  earnest  and  unprompted  recogni- 
tion of  them  all.  Whatever  else  might  be  said  of  her,  she  was 
not  mean  nor  narrow;  but  in  her  principles,  feelings  and  instincts, 
was,  as  she  had  shown  on  many  occasions,  by  her  works  rather 
than  her  words — for  she  was  not  cunning  in  phrases  of  self-com- 
mendation— broad  and  catholic.  Upon  questions  of  river  and  har- 
bor-improvement, and  on  other  measures  proposed  in  Congress 
for  the  advantage  of  the  West,  her  votes  had  generally,  if  not 
always,  been  such  as  the  West  had  given  herself.  To  you,  he 
said,  she  has  given  her  hopes  and  good  wishes,  and  thousands  of 
her  men  and  women,  whose  industry,  enterprise,  and  intelligence, 
have  neither  been  unnoticed  nor  unfelt  in  the  marvelous  conquests 
which  you  have  made ;  she  has  given  you  patriotic  men,  like  those 
you  have  heard  from  in  this  war,  whether  led  by  her  own  Berrys, 
Howards  and  Jamesons  in  the  East,  or  by  the  Grants,  Rose- 
cranses,  and  others  of  the  West,  whose  deeds  belong  to  history, 
and  whose  names  are  written  on  the  red-leaved  tablets  of  the  heart, 
ineffaceable  forever. 

Look,  Mr.  President,  at  the  map  of  the  United  States,  and  you 
will  observe  that  Maine  has  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  direct 
sea-frontage ;  and,  following  the  line  of  bays,  harbors,  creeks  and 
inlets,  that  her  shores  are  washed  by  tide  waters  to  the  extent  of 
more  than  three  thousand  miles.  She  has  more  deep,  safe,  capa- 
cious and  accessible  harbors  than  are  to  be  found  from  the  Dela- 
ware to  the  Del  Norte.  More  than  half  her  population  live  within 
an  hour's  ride  of  navigable  waters ;  and  so  you  will  not  be  sur- 
prised that  she  builds  ships  and  sails  them — that  her  men,  as  sailors, 
masters,  merchants,  go  everywhere.  There  is  not  an  island  in  the 
farthest  sea  but  has  been  visited  by  the  sons  of  Maine.  Could 
such  a  people  be  narrow  or  illiberal  ?  Could  they,  with  their 
experience,  help  seeing  that  a  broad  and  generous  policy  was  the 
wisest?  Could  the  "Sun-rise  State,"  with  its  facilities  for  com- 
merce, its  healthy  climate,  and  manufacturing  capabilities,  doubt 
that  whatever  benefited  the  West,  would  help  her?  Nothing 
could  be  done  legitimately  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  West, 
that  would  not  be  of  ultimate  advantage  to  New  England  and  the 
entire  East. 


55 

He  said  there  were  certain  things  to  which  the  West  was  pre- 
eminently adapted,  and  to  which  it  would  be  most  profitable  to 
confine  herself,  not  altogether,  but  in  the  main.  She  could  not 
afford  to  be  a  common  carrier  or  a  manufacturer;  she  could  do 
better  as  an  agriculturist.  To  her  was  granted  the  peculiar  favor 
of  filling  the  most  honorable  occupation  among  men, — not  that 
hers  would  be  an  exclusively  agricultural  people,  for  they  would 
not ;  they  would  be  more  or  less  engaged  in  manufactures  and  com- 
merce, also ;  but  their  leading,  characteristic  employment  would 
be  agriculture.  The  East,  with  its  less  fertile  soil,  could  not  com- 
pete with  the  West  in  the  products  of  the  field,  and  while  to  some 
extent  her  people  would  be  farmers,  that  would  not  be  their  chief 
business.  They  could  not  compete  with  the  possessors  of  the  fat 
acres  of  the  West,  and  so  would,  of  necessity,  engage  in  other 
employments.  Their  soil,  climate  and  place  on  the  continent,  had 
appointed  them  the  carriers  and  manufacturers  of  the  country,  not 
exclusively  indeed,  but  more  than  any  other  section.  And  was  it 
not  for  the  advantage  of  the  East  that  she  should  be  the  carrier 
and  manufacturer  for  fifty  millions  of  people  in  the  West,  instead 
of  ten  ?  That  her  trade  would  be  increased  five-fold,  and  with  this, 
her  population  and  wealth?  Nothing,  he  would  repeat,  could  be 
done  to  help  the  West,  that  was  not,  also, for  the  advantage  of  the 
East.  Enlarge  the  canal-communications  from  the  Mississippi  to 
the  Atlantic,  as  you  propose,  and  the  expense  of  transportation  of 
a  barrel  of  flour,  a  bushel  of  corn,  or  box  of  pork,  would  be 
reduced  to  one-half  the  present  cost.  The  Western  producer 
would  undoubtedly  be  benefited  more  than  any  other  class,  but 
the  Eastern  consumer  would  also  be  benefited — he  would  not  pur- 
chase a  barrel  of  flour  without  realizing  a  direct  advantage, — but 
the  increased  trade  and  expanded  markets,  which  these  facilities 
postulate,  make  him  even  more  interested  in  their  completion,  than 
does  the  simple  fact  of  the  reduced  cost  of  the  Western  staples  of 
which  he  is  so  large  a  purchaser.  The  nearer  production  and  con- 
sumption— agriculture  and  commerce — are  brought  to  each  other, 
the  better  for  both. 

Man's  business  is  not  merely  to  appropriate  what  nature  has 
provided,  but  to  work  with  nature,  and,  by  such  co-operation,  to 
develop  the  resources  and  increase  the  material  wealth  of  a  coun- 
try. The  outlets  of  the  West  are  South  and  East;  and  nature  has 
not  more  distinctly  marked  the  channel  of  the  Mississippi  for  one 
of  them  than  she  has  indicated  another,  or  others,  towards  the 
East.  The  relative  position  of  the  continents,  the  oceans,  winds, 
currents,  climate,  population,  have  an  important  influence  in 
channeling  the  courses  of  trade ;  and  they  have  determined  that 
the  great  volume  of  Western  commerce  shall  flow  Eastward.  Na- 
ture is  the  true  economist.  She  wastes  no  power ;  and  so  when 
she  opened  the  highway  of  the  Mississippi  from  the  far  North  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  she  declared  that  it  was  a  natural  and  con- 
venient channel  of  trade  and  intercourse ;  but  not  absolutely  indis- 
pensable, not  so  necessary,  that  the  enterprise  and  capital  of  men 


56 

would  be  certain  to  supplement  what  she  had  left  unfinished: 
and,  when  the  way  by  the  lakes  and  rivers  to  the  Atlantic  was  but 
half  opened,  she  knew  that  its  completion  was  so  important,  so 
imperiously  demanded  by  the  necessities  of  both  East  and  West, 
that  the  work  might  be  safely  left  to  be  disposed  of  by  human 
skill  and  power. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  present  is  an  inauspicious  time 
for  this  enterprise.  I  cannot  think  so :  on  the  other  hand,  I  regard 
it  as  the  appointed  and  accepted  time  for  this  grand  national  work. 
In  a  higher  and  deeper  sense  than  men  have  generally  seen,  this 
civil  war  is  a  war  for  the  sake  of  the  Union.  The  rebellion  for  the 
destruction  of  the  Union  was  needed,  perhaps,  to  make  it  eternal — 
the  union  of  East  and  West,  as  well  as  of  North  and  South.  It  has 
secured  already  a  Pacific  railroad,  which,  without  it,  might  have 
been  delayed  until  a  commercial,  if  not  a  political,  disunion  should 
have  been  accomplished.  It  has  summoned  this  noble  Convention, 
whose  united  voice  to-day,  representing  every  loyal  State  from 
Kentucky  to  Maine,  has  settled  the  question  of  a  ship-canal  from 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Atlantic ;  indeed,  has  worked  a  power  that 
directed  in  one  effort,  shall  cleave  the  solid  earth  from  the  Great 
River  to  the  Lakes,  and  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Ocean !  Be  sure, 
the  contract,  implied  if  not  expressed,  when  the  rebellion  was 
commenced,  will  not  be  fully  executed  until  all  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  a  'more  perfect  union'  shall  have  been  overcome,  until  all 
sections  shall  be  united  in  indissoluble  bonds,  social,  political  and 
commercial. 

Tell  me  not  that  the  country  is  engaged  in  a  gigantic  civil  war, 
and  has  neither  time  nor  means  to  do  more  than  save  the  Union  of 
North  and  South.  We  have  the  means  and  power  for  what  is 
demanded;  more  power  for  the  accomplishment  of  all  things 
required  for  the  security  of  the  national  life  than  for  a  part  of 
them.  In  a  war  for  the  Union,  let  us  provide  against  the  contin- 
gency of  future  wars  for  the  Union,  and  for  adequate  defenses 
against  foreign  powers.  Now,  if  ever,  we  should  prepare  to  defend 
the  Lakes  of  the  West,  and  the  country  wherever  exposed ;  and 
he  would  say  that  some  of  the  defenses  of  the  West  and  of  the 
country,  most  practicable  and  indispensable,  will  be  required  upon 
that  wedge  separating  the  upper  and  lower  British  Provinces, 
known  as  the  State  of  Maine.  The  West  will  not  wait  to  be 
defended  only  at  the  gates  of  Detroit  and  Chicago.  No,  the  means 
and  the  opportunity  for  these  great  works  of  commercial,  political, 
and  military  necessity,  are  not  wanting.  So  far,  we  have  carried 
on  the  war  almost  without  an  effort,  with  one  hand  only ;  nay, 
with  not  so  much  as  that ;  we  have  not  employed  as  yet  even  the 
little  finger  of  our  power.  See  how  the  country  has  been  going 
on  all  this  time — planting,  harvesting,  ship-building,  manufacturing, 
trading,  building  cities  like  this  modern  wonder  of  yours,  the 
Queen  of  the  Prairie  and  the  Lakes,  as  in  times  of  profound  peace 
and  high  material  prosperity.  A  gentleman  told  us  this  morning 
that  the  country  was  "  staggering  "  under  the  weight  of  the  rebel- 


57 

lion.  Do  all  these  badges  of  prosperity,  these  signs  of  unexhausted 
and  almost  untouched  power,  indicate  anything  of  the  kind  ? 
Staggering!  The  granite  peak  of  Katahdin  shall  sooner  move  from 
its  everlasting  foundation,  than  this  nation,  this  mighty,  free  people, 
stagger  beneath  the  blows  of  a  slaveholders'  rebellion  !  Not  only 
does  the  nation  not, stagger  in  the  war,  but  its  vast  means,  and  the 
intelligent  patriotism  and  unconquerable  devotion  of  the  people, 
should  assure  us  that  it  will  be  ended  with  no  material  diminution 
of  its  strength  and  resources.  It  is  weak  and  impious  to  suggest 
doubts  of  the  result.  Shall  it  be  acknowledged  that  the  great 
Republic  is  a  failure,  and  now  to  pass  away  ?  Shall  we  flout  God's 
providence,  which  has  written  on  so  many  pages  its  necessity,  and 
grandeur,  and  beneficence  ?  Shall  we  not  believe  that  it  is  to  be 
saved,  when  we  feel  that  it  ought  to  be  ?  When  we  see  that  civili- 
zation needs  it,  that  both  hemispheres  need  it,  that  the  humbling 
of  the  world's  despotisms  and  the  consecrated  revenges  of  Freedom 
need  it?  Shall  we  forget  the  circumstances  of  its  history — the 
discovery  of  the  continent,  the  settlement  of  North  America,  the 
marvellous  growth  of  the  United  States  ?  Shall  we  believe  that 
the  War  of  Independence  was  in  fact  a  step  backward,  and  its 
final  cause  the  disappointment  of  the  friends  of  liberty? — that 
God's  gift  of  Washington  was  in  vain  ? — that  that  miracle  of 
human  wisdom,  as  it  has  appeared  to  us,  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  was  but  a  wretched  mockery  ? — that  this  upris- 
ing of  slavery  (the  chief  if  not  the  only  enemy  of  the  Government) 
against  itself,  is  of  no  significance? — that  all  the  signs  of  promise, 
and  all  the  hopes  for  man  in  the  New  World,  are  barren  and  fruit- 
less ?  Oh,  no  !  rather  let  us  accept  as  prophetic  the  words  of  the 
good  Bishop  Berkeley,  just  quoted  by  my  friend  from  New  York 
(Gen.  COCHBANE)  : 

"  Westward  the  Course  of  Empire  takes  its  way — 

The  first  four  acts  already  past ; 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day : 
Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last" 

Mr.  WALBKIDGE  introduced  a  series  of  patriotic  resolutions, 
which,  not  coming  within  the  purview  of  the  resolutions  adopted 
by  the  Convention  relating  to  business,  are  omitted. 

The  PRESIDENT  announced  the  following  as  members  of  the 
Executive  Committee : 

Illinois,  Mr.  I.  N.  Arnold. 

Indiana,  "  Geo.  W.  Julian. 

Kentucky,  "  Samuel  L.  Casey. 

Massachusetts,  "  Henry  L.  Dawes. 

Maine,  "  T.  C.  Hersey. 

New  Hampshire,  "  Thos.  M.  Edwards. 

Vermont,  "  Justin  L.  Morrill. 


58 


Michigan, 
Rhode  Island, 
Connecticut, 
Missouri, 
Ohio, 
Iowa, 

New  Jersey, 
New  York, 
Minnesota, 
Kansas, 
Wisconsin, 
California, 


Mr.  D.  Stewart. 

"  R.  J.  Arnold. 

"  C.  Day. 

"  T.  J.  Homer. 

"  P.  Chamberlain. 

"  R  P.  Hill. 

"  Ezra  Nye. 

"  A.  A.  Low. 

"  Robert  Blakeley. 

"  D.  R  Anthony. 

"  James  T.  Lewis. 

"  J.  A.  McDougall. 


ADJOURNMENT. 


Mr.  KING,  of  New  York.  I  move  that  the  Convention  now 
adjourn  sine  die. 

The  motion  was  carried,  and  the  PRESIDENT  declared  the  National 
Convention  adjourned  sine  die. 


59 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 


Pursuant  to  previous  notice,  the  Committee  appointed  to  memo- 
rialize the  President  and  Congress,  met  at  the  St.  Nicholas,  New 
York,  July  2,  at  12  o'clock  M.,  when  Mr.  ARNOLD,  as  temporary 
Chairman,  called  the  Committee  to  order. 

Present,  Mr.  Arnold,  of  Illinois. 

"  Edwards,  of  New  Hampshire. 

"  Hersey,  of  Maine. 

"  Low,  of  New  York. 

"  Nye,  of  New  Jersey. 

"  Hill,  of  Iowa. 

"  Chamberlain,  of  Ohio. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  CHAMBERLAIN,  it  was  voted,  that  a  President 
and  Vice  President  be  appointed, — and  Mr.  ARNOLD  and  Mr.  Low 
were  respectively  selected. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Low,  of  New  York,  Mr.  FOSTER,  of  Illinois, 
was  designated  as  Secretary. 

Mr.  HILL,  of  Iowa,  moved  that  a  sub-committee  of  three  be 
appointed  to  draft  a  memorial,  to  which  Mr.  CHAMBERLAIN  offered 
an  amendment,  which  was  accepted  by  the  mover,  that  the  Presi- 
dent and  Vice  President  be  added  to  the  Committee.  The  motion 
was  carried,  with  the  additional  amendment  that  the  Committee 
be  appointed  by  the  Chair. 

Mr.  EDWARDS  submitted  the  following  resolution  : 

Retolved,  That  an  enlargement  of  the  channels  of  water-communication  be- 
tween the  West  and  the  East,  necessary  to  the  protection  of  the  commerce  of 
the  Lakes,  and  the  cities  and  villages  on  their  borders,  is  no  less  important  to  the 
business  interests  of  the  East  than  to  those  of  the  West ;  and  that  the  East,  by  the 
almost  undivided  votes  of  its  delegations  in  Congress,  has  pledged  itself  to  co-ope- 
rate in  securing  the  aid  of  the  General  Government  to  any  proper  measures  for 
the  accomplishment  of  this  great  national  object. 

Which,  after  some  discussion,  was  unanimously  adopted. 
Mr.  HILL  moved  that  two  additional  names  be  added  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Memorial,  which  was  carried. 


60 

The  CHAIR  then  announced  the  following  as  the  Committee : 

Mr.  I.  N.  Arnold,  ex  officio,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

"  A.  A.  Low,  "  New  York  city. 

"  R.  P.  Hill,  Davenport,  Iowa. 

"  H.  L.  Dawes,  North  Adams,  Massachusetts. 

"  T.  J.  Homer,  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

"  P.  Chamberlain,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

"  Thos.  M.  Edwards,  Keene,  New  Hampshire. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Low,  it  was  voted,  that  when  this  Committee 
adjourn,  they  adjourn  to  meet  at  the  call  of  the  Sub- Committee. 
Mr.  Low  submitted  the  following  resolution,  which  was  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  said  Sub- Committee  be  authorized  to  invite  from  Boards  of  Trade, 
Chambers  of  Commerce,  and  other  public  bodies  interested  in  the  enlargement  of 
the  existing  lines  of  communication  between  the  East  and  the  West,  and  in  |any 
addition  thereto,  such  information  as  may  bear  upon  the  contemplated  work  of 
intercommunication,  whether  of  a  military  or  commercial  character. 

The  Committee  then  adjourned,  subject  to  the  call  of  the  Presi- 
dent. 


APPENDIX 


[A.] 

NECESSITY  OF  A  SHIP-CANAL  BETWEEN  THE 
EAST  AND  WEST. 


"  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  levy  taxes,  duties,  imposts  and  excises — to 
provide  for  the  COMMON  DEFENSE,  and  promote  the  GENERAL  WELFARE 
of  the  United  States." — CONSTITUTION. 

The  Committee,  appointed  to  collect  statistics  as  to  the  importance 
of  uniting  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  with  those  of  the  Atlantic 
by  a  Ship-  Canal,  have  discharged  the  duties  imposed  upon  them, 
and  submit  the  following 

KEPOKT. 

Two  schemes  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  object  have  been 
brought  prominently  before  the  country,  and  failed,  only  by  a  few 
votes,  to  receive  the  sanction  of  the  Thirty-Seventh  Congress. 

1.  To  make  a  slack-water  navigation  of  the  Illinois  and  Des 
Plaines  rivers,  and  to  enlarge  the  present  Illinois  and  Michigan 
canal  to  such  dimensions  as  shall  admit  of  the  passage  of  gun- 
boats, and  of  the  largest  class  of  Mississippi  steamers,  to  the  Lakes. 

2.  To  enlarge  the  locks  of  the  Erie  and  Oswego  canals  of  New 
York,  to   such  dimensions  as  shall  pass  an  iron-clad  gun-boat  25 
feet  wide  and  200  feet  long,  and  drawing  not  less  than  6  feet  and 
6  inches  water. 

The  cost  of  construction  of  the  first  will  be  about  $13,500,000, 
and  that  of  the  second,  $3,500,000; — detailed  estimates  of  which 
will  be  presented  to  the  Convention. 

In  devising  an  extensive  system  of  internal  communication,  it  is 
of  the  highest  importance  to  inquire  into  the  resources  of  the 
region  which  it  shall  traverse  ;  its  topography,  soil  and  climate ;  its 
population,  products  of  industry  and  internal  commerce  ;  and  its 
past  and  prospective  growth ; — all  are  elements  to  be  taken  into 
consideration  to  enable  us  to  form  an  intelligible  opinion  as  to  the 
necessity  of  executing  such  works,  and  the  scale  of  magnitude  on 
which  they  should  be  projected. 


64 


PHYSICAL    CHARACTER   OF    THB    MISSISSIPPI    BASIJT. 

The  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  bounded  on  the  one  hand  by  the 
Rocky  mountains,  and  on  the  other  by  the  Alleghanies,  embraces 
a  drainage  area  of  1,244,000  square  miles,  which  is  more  than 
one-half  of  the  entire  area  of  the  United  States.  The  Upper 
Mississippi  Valley  is  composed  of  three  subordinate  basins,  whose 
respective  dimensions  are  as  follows : 

The  Ohio  basin 214,000  square  miles. 

The  Upper  Mississippi 169,000       "          " 

The  Missouri 518,000       "          " 


Making  a  total  of 901,000  " 

Its  navigable  rivers  are  as  follows : 

Missouri,  to  near  the  Great  Falls 8,150  miles. 

Missouri,  above  Great  Falls  to  Three  Forks 150  " 

Osage,  to  Osceola 200  " 

Kansas 100  " 

BigSioux 75  " 

Yellow-stone 800  " 

Upper  Mississippi,  to  St.  Paul 658 

St.  Anthony,  to  Sauk  Rapids 80  " 

Above  Little  Falls,  to  Pokegi ma  Falls 250  " 

Minnesota,  to  Patterson's  Rapids 295  ' ' 

St.  Croix,  to  St.  Croix  Falls 60  " 

Illinois,  to  La  Salle 220  " 

Ohio,  to  Pittsburgh 975  " 

Monongahela,  to  Geneva  (slack- water,  4  locks,) 91  " 

Muskingum,  to  Dresden               "          8      "       100  " 

Green  River,  to  Bowling  Green  "          5      "       186  " 

Kentucky,  to  Brooklyn              "          5      "       117  " 

Kanawha,  to  Gauley  Bridge 100  " 

Wabash,  to  Lafayette 335  " 

Salt,  to  Shepherdsville  .    30  " 

Sandy,  to  Louisa 25  " 

Tennessee,  to  Muscle  Shoals 600  " 

Cumberland,  to  Burkesville 370  " 

Total  navigation 8,967  " 

NOTB. — Steamboats  have  ascended  the  Des-Moines  to  Des-Moines  City,  Iowa  river  to  Iowa  City, 
Cedar  river  to  Cedar  Rapids,  and  the  Maquoketa  to  Maquoketa  City,  but  only  during  temporary 
floods. 

It  would  thus  appear  that  the  internal  navigation  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi  Valley  is  about  9.000  miles  in  extent;    but,  during 


65 


the  summer  months,  even  through  the  main  channels,  it  becomes 
precarious,  and  at  times  is  practically  suspended. 

The  Mississippi  Valley,  viewed  as  a  whole,  may  be  regarded  as 
one  great  plain  between  two  diverging  coast  ranges,  elevated  from 
400  to  800  feet  above  the  sea.  St.  Paul,  the  head  of  the  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi,  is  800  feet  above  the  ocean ;  Pittsburgh,  at  the 
junction  of  the  Monongahela  and  Alleghany,  forming  the  Ohio, 
699  feet ;  Lake  Superior  on  the  north,  600  feet;  but  the  water-shed 
on  the  west,  at  South  Pass,  rises  to  nearly  7,500  feet. 

It  is  traversed  by  no  mountain  ranges,  but  the  surface  swells  into 
hills  and  ridges,  and  is  diversified  by  forest  and  prairie.  Leaving 
out  the  sterile  portions  west  of  the  Missouri,  the  soil  is  almost 
uniformly  fertile,  easily  cultivated,  and  yields  an  abundant  return. 
The  climate  is  healthy  and  invigorating,  and  altogether  the  region 
is  the  most  attractive  for  immigration  of  any  portion  of  the  earth. 

PHYSICAL   CHARACTER   OF   THE    ST.    LAWRENCE. 

The  sources  of  the  Mississippi  on  the  east  interlock  with  those 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  which,  with  its  associated  lakes  and  rivers, 
presents  a  system  of  water-communication  of  nearly  equal  extent 
and  grandeur. 

TABLE  SHOWING  THE  DIMENSIONS  OF  THE  FIVE  GREAT  AMERICAN  LAKES. 


LAKES. 

Greatest 
length. 

Greatest 
breadth. 

Height 
above  sea. 

Area  In 
square  miles. 

MILKS. 

855 

MII.KS. 

160 

FEET. 

600 

32,000 

265 

80 

676 

22,000 

210 

160 

574 

20,400 

Erie  

210 

45 

560 

9,600 

160 

45 

235 

6,800 

TOTAL  

90,300 

The  entire  area  drained  by  these  lakes  is  estimated  at  335,515 
square  miles,  and  their  shore  lines  are  nearly  5,000  miles  in  extent, 
while  those  of  the  Atlantic  are  but  3,500. 

These  rivers  are  as  diverse  in  character  as  in  direction.     Thp 


66 

Mississippi  is  the  longer,  but  the  St.  Lawrence  discharges  the 
greater  volume  of  water  ;  the  one  abounds  in  difficult  rapids,  the 
other  in  stupendous  cataracts ;  the  one  is  subject  to  great  fluctua- 
tions, the  other  preserves  an  almost  unvarying  level ;  the  waters 
of  the  one  are  turbid,  those  of  the  other  possess  an  almost  crystal 
purity  ;  the  one  affords  few  lake-like  expansions,  the  other  swells 
into  vast  inland  seas.  Both  have  become  the  great  highways  of 
commerce,  enriching  the  regions  through  which  they  flow,  and 
supplying  the  inhabitants  with  the  varied  products  of  distant 
climes.  (Foster  and  Whitney's  Report  on  Lake  Superior.} 

The  commerce  of  these  Lakes,  whose  annual  value  reaches 
$450,000,000 — more  than  twice  the  external  commerce  of  the  whole 
country — is  carried  on  by  a  fleet  of  1,643  vessels,  of  the  following 
classes : — 

No.  Tonnage.  Value. 

Steamers 143  53,522  $2,190,300 

Propellers 254  70,253  3,573,300 

Barks 74  33,203  982,900 

Brigs .' 85  24,831  526,200 

Schooners ...  1,068  227,831  5,955,550 

Sloops 16  667  12,770 

Barges 3  3,719  17,000 


TOTALS 1,643        413,026        $13,257,020 

The  following  are  the  distances  of  some  of  the  commercial 
routes,  taking  Chicago  as  the  initial  point : 

Chicago  to  Fond  du  Lac  Superior 900  miles. 

"        "Georgian   Bay 650      " 

"        "  Buffalo 950      " 

"        "  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 1,950     " 

PROGRESS    OF   DEVELOPMENT. 

The  first  colony  of  English  extraction,  planted  in  the  territory 
of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  was  in  1788 — just  seventy-five  years 
ago — at  Marietta,  within  the  present  limits  of  Ohio.  This  was  the 
origin  of  that  spirit  of  colonization,  which,  within  the  lifetime  of 
many  living  men,  has  peopled  this  region  with  nine  millions  of 
human  beings ;  has  subdued  and  brought  under  cultivation,  an 
area  greater  than  that  of  all  tlie  cultivated  lands  of  the  British 
Empire;  has  connected  the  principal  commercial  points  with  a 
net-work  of  railways  more  than  eleven  thousand  miles  in  extent ; 
and  has  built  up  a  domestic  industry,  the  value  of  whose  annual 


product  is  in  excess  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  dollars. 
Out  of  this  territory  have  been  carved  not  less  than  nine  States, 
which  are  indissolubly  linked  together  by  a  similarity  of  conditions 
in  soil  and  climate,  and  by  the  geographical  features  of  the  country. 
They  have  already  received  the  appellation  of  the  "FooD- 
PKODUCING"  States; — an  appellation  which  they  are  destined  to 
retain  for  all  time. 

The  rivers  and  the  lakes,  which  water  this  region,  offer  the  most 
magnificent  system  of  internal  communication  to  be  found  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  No  mountain  barriers  interpose  to  divide  the 
people  into  hostile  clans,  or  divert  the  great  currents  of  trade  in 
their  flow  to  the  markets  of  the  world.  With  a  soil  sufficiently 
rich  in  organic  matter  for  fifty  successive  crops;  with  almost  bound- 
less fields  of  coal,  stored  away  for  future  use  ;  with  vast  deposits 
of  the  useful  ores,  and  the  precious  metals,  on  the  rim  of  the  great 
basin  ;  and  with  a  climate  most  favorable  to  the  development  of 
human  energy ;  it  is  impossible  for  the  mind,  even  in  its  most  daring 
speculations,  to  assign  limits  to  the  growth  of  the  North- West. 
When  all  of  these  elements  of  wealth,  now  in  a  crude  state,  shall 
have  been  fully  developed,  there  will  be  an  exhibition  of  human 
power  and  greatness  such  as  no  other  people  ever  attained. 

The  subjoined  table  (A.),  compiled  from  the  Census  returns  of 
the  United  States,  exhibits  the  progress  of  population,  as  well  as 
of  cultivation  in  these  States,  from  1800  to  1860;  and  it  will  be 
perceived  that,  during  this  period,  in  both  these  respects,  the 
increase  has  been  each  decade  about  two-fold. 

The  appended  table  (B.),  also  compiled  from  the  Census 
returns,  shows  that  the  increase  in  agricultural  products  and  in 
domestic  animals  has  been  in  about  the  same  proportions.  Com- 
paring the  whole  superficial  contents  of  these  States  with  the 
portions  cultivated,  it  will  be  seen  that  only  about  15£  per  cent, 
of  the  surface  has  been  subdued ;  and,  if  population  and  cultiva- 
tion increase  in  the  same  ratio  in  the  future,  as  they  have  in  the  past, 
before  the  lapse  of  another  decade  there  will  be  collected  annually, 
on  the  borders  of  the  Great  Lakes,  more  than  200,000,000  bushels 
of  cereals  for  exportation,  giving  employment  to  a  fleet  of  more 
than  3,000  vessels,  and  requiring  avenues  of  more  than  twice  the 
capacity  of  existing  ones. 


68 


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Here  is  a  gross  sum  of  more  than  550,000,000  bushels  of  cereals, 
the  product  of  the  eight  Food-producing  States  for  the  year  1859, 
based  on  a  crop  which  was  nearly  one-third  deficient,  as  contrasted 
with  those  of  1860  and  1861. 

To  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  motive  power  required  to 
distribute  this  prodigious  mass,  in  its  crude  state,  it  may  be  stated 
that  it  would  employ  more  than  64,400  locomotives,  each  hauling 
8,500  bushels  ;  and,  if  required  to  deposit  their  freight  at  a  given 
depot,  a  train  must  arrive  oftener  than  once  in  seven  minutes,  by 
day  and  by  night,  throughout  every  working  day  of  the  year. 

After  feeding  the  existing  population  of  those  States,  there 
remains  a  surplus  of  more  than  500,000,000  of  bushels,  to  be  used 
as  seed  for  future  crops,  as  food  for  the  domestic  animals,  and  for 
exportation,  either  in  a  crude  state,  or  in  a  concentrated  form,  as 
beef,  pork,  lard,  oil,  whisky,  etc.,  etc. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  increase  of  agricultural  products  since 
1859,  consequent  on  improved  crops,  and  an  enlarged  area  of  cul- 
tivation, your  Committee  would  direct  attention  to  the  provision- 
trade  of  Chicago  for  the  last  four  years. 

TABLE,  SHOWING  THE  RECEIPTS  AT  CHICAGO  OF  THE  ARTICLES  NAMED  FOR  THE 

TEARS  1859-62. 


ARTICLES. 

1859. 

1860. 

1861. 

1862. 

Flour  barrels.  

726  321 

713  348 

1,479  284 

1  666  391 

\Vheat   bushels.  ...... 

8  060,766 

14,427  083 

1  7,385  002 

13,978  116 

Corn            "      

5  401,870 

15  262  394 

26,369,989 

29,574  328 

Oats            "      

1,757,696 

2  198  889 

2,067,018 

4,688  722 

Rye,             " 

231,514 

318,976 

490,989 

1,038,825 

Barley,        "          

652,696 

617,619 

457,589 

872,053 

Ho^s    . 

271,204 

392  864 

675,902 

1,348  890 

Cattle  

111,694 

177,101 

204,579 

209,655 

Thus,  the  increase  in  cereals  has  been  196  per  cent. ;  in  hogs, 
400  per  cent. ;  and  in  cattle,  87  per  cent 

Results  equally  marked  are  shown  by  the  returns  of  the  other 
lake-ports. 

BLOCKADE    OF    THE    MISSISSIPPI. 

It  may  be  said  that  this  is  the  result  of  the  blockade  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  that,  so  soon  as  that  blockade  is  raised,  a  considerable 
portion  of  these  products  will  seek  an  outlet  through  that  channel. 
This  is  a  mistaken  idea,  which  a  brief  reference  to  the  statistics  of 
trade  will  entirely  dispel. 


n 

The  Committee  of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  in  a  recent 
report,  say: 

"  In  the  early  settlement  of  the  West,  the  Mississippi  was  the  only  outlet  for  the 
products  of  the  country  ;  but  the  opening  of  the  New  York  and  Canadian  canals, 
and  of  not  less  than  five  trunk  railways  between  the  East  and  West,  has  rendered 
the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  a  matter  of  secondary  importance. 

"  The  heated  waters  of  a  tropical  sea,  destructive  to  most  of  our  articles  of 
export ;  a  malarious  climate,  shunned  by  every  Northerner  for  at  least  one-half  of 
the  year ;  and  a  detour  in  the  voyage  of  over  3,000  miles  in  a  direct  line  to  the 
markets  of  the  world  ; — these  considerations  have  been  sufficiently  powerful  to 
divert  the  great  flow  of  animal  and  vegetable  food  from  the  South  to  the  East.  Up 
to  1860,  the  West  found  a  local  market  for  an  inconsiderable  portion  of  her 
bread-stuffs  and  provisions  in  the  South  ;  but,  after  supplying  this  local  demand, 
the  amount  which  was  exported  from  New  Orleans  was  insignificant,  hardly 
exceeding  two  millions  of  dollars  per  annum." 

The  annual  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  for  the  year 
ending  August  31, 1860,  shows  the  amount  of  bread-stuffs  and  pro- 
visions exported  to  foreign  countries  from  New  Orleans  and  New 
York  respectively,  as  follows  : 

From  From 

New  Orleans.      New  York. 

Wheat,  bushels 2,189  1,880,908 

Wheat  Flour,  barrels 80,641  1,187,200 

Indian  Corn,  bushels 224,382  1,580,014 

Indian  Meal,  barrels 158  86,073 

Pork,  barrels 4,250  109,379 

Hams  and  Bacon,  pounds 890,230  16,161,749 

The  total  receipts  of  grain  of  all  kinds,  at  that  port,  in  no  single 
year  exceeded  14,500,000  bushels,  either  for  exportation  or  con- 
sumption in  the  interior,  which  are  about  the  receipts  at  Milwau- 
kee, or  Toledo.  In  1859-60,  the  receipts  were  as  follows  : 

FLOUR.  WHEAT.  CORN.  OATS. 

bbls.  sacks  and  bbls.  sacks  and  bbls.  sacks  and  bblg. 

965,860  889,848  1,722,637  659,550 

These  facts  show  conclusively  that,  with  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  unobstructed,  the  great  mass  of  Western  exports  would 
flow  through  other  channels. 

PRODUCT   OP   BREAD-STUFFS   FOB  EXPORTATION. 

The  amount  of  cereals,  which,  in  1862,  flowed  out  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi  Valley  and  the  region  of  the  Lakes,  en  route  for  the 
sea-board,  was,  according  to  the  Buffalo  Trade  Report,  136,329,542 
bushels,  which  were  respectively  forwarded  from  the  following 
points: 


STATEMENT  SHOWING  THE  SHIPMENT  OF  CEREALS  FOR  1862. 


PLACES. 

FLOUR. 

BBLS. 

WHEAT. 

BUSH. 

CORN. 

BUSH. 

OTHER 
GRAIN. 

BUSH. 

W.  Terminus  B.  &  0.  R.  R.*.  .  . 

690,000 

550  000 

"     Pennsylvania  Central 

890,696 

1  622  893 

1,095,865 

112,061 

149  654 

10  173 

875,000 

2  750  000 

Buffalo  

2  846  022 

30  435  831 

24  288  627 

3  849  620 

Oswego  

235  382 

10  982  132 

4  528  962 

1  467  823 

48  5*76 

316  403 

249  369 

49  047 

576  394 

689  930 

1  120  176 

18  865 

1,101  475 

8  012  773 

2  649  136 

519  896 

1  000 

150  000 

6  622 

*  Estimated. 

TOTALS  

8  359  910 

50  699  130 

32  985  923 

10  844  939 

GRAND  TOTAL,  (Flour  reduced  to  bushels) 186,329,542 


SHIPMENTS  OF  CEREALS  FROM   FOUR  LAKE-PORTS,   IN  1862. 


PLACES. 

FLOUR. 

BBL3. 

WHEAT. 

BUSH. 

CORN. 

BOSH. 

OTHER 
GRAIN. 

BUSH. 

Chicago  

1  739  849 

18  808  898 

29  452  610 

4  516  357 

711,405 

14,915,680 

9,489 

250,292 

Toledo*  

1  261,291 

9  314,491 

3  781  634 

Detroitf  

998,535 

3,278,033 

310,618 

122,109 

TOTALS  

4,711,080 

41,317,102 

33,554,351 

4,888,758 

GRAND  TOTAL,  (Flour  reduced  to  bushels) 103,315,611 

*  Amount  received  from  Chicago  deducted. 

t  Amount  received  from  Chicago  and  Milwaukee  deducted. 

The  mining  population  of  Lake  Superior  absorb  not  less  than 
150,000  bushels  of  cereals,  which  do  not  appear  in  the  above 
tables,  and  which  will  account  for  the  discrepancies  between  the 
amounts  shipped  from  the  initial  points,  and  the  amounts  forwarded 
from  the  secondary  points.  These  tables  are  illustrative,  as  showing 
that,  in  this  great  grain-movement,  the  four  lake-ports  furnish  more 
than  fifty  per  cent,  of  all  the  flour,  more  than  eighty  per  cent,  of 
all  the  wheat,  and  more  than  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  cereals 
of  all  kinds ;  while  Chicago  and  Toledo  together  furnish  more 
corn  than  finds  its  way  eastward  through  all  these  avenues,  and 
Chicago  alone  contributes  more  than  forty  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
gross  product. 


73 

These  statistics  show  to  what  gigantic  proportions  the  grain-trade 
of  the  North- West — the  growth  of  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century — 
has  attained.  The  first  shipment  of  grain  from  Chicago  was  made 
by  one  of  this  Committee  in  1838;  but  the  earliest  bill  of  lading 
preserved  bears  date  Oct.  8,  1839,  and  calls  for  1,678  bushels  of 
wheat,  to  be  delivered  at  Black  Rock. 

PROVISION-TRADE. 

The  provision-trade  has  assumed  dimensions  equally  important. 
The  following  returns  of  the  pork-packing  in  the  North-West  are 
taken  from  the  Cincinnati  Price  Current,  showing  the  number  of 
hogs  slaughtered,  as  well  as  forwarded : 

1861-2.  1862-8. 

Ohio 791,099  981,683 

Indiana 495,298  587,528 

Illinois 835,881  1,484,834 

Iowa 208,188  408,899 

Missouri 188,766  284,011 

Wisconsin 100,656  196,745 


TOTALS 2,566,788  8,938,700 

Excess  over  preceding  year 371,912 

Aggregate  weight  in  IDS. 606,788,684        854,697,900 

The  number  of  hogs  forwarded  by  the 

1861-2.  1862-3. 

New  York  and  Erie  Railroad 1 24,792  1 36,007 

Pennsylvania  Railroad     205,108  171,490 

329,875  807,503 

No  returns  of  the  number  sent  through  Canada,  or  delivered  at 
Buffalo,  have  as  yet  been  received. 

The  Committee  have  not  complete  returns  of  the  extent  of 
beef-packing  in  the  North-West.  The  shipments  of  cattle  through 
one  avenue  alone — Detroit — amounted  last  year  to  75,964. 

CORN- CROP. 

But  the  great  crop  of  the  North-West  is  that  of  maize,  or  Indian 
corn,  the  yearly  product  of  which  is  now  not  less  than  500,000,000 
bushels.  It  is  easily  cultivated,  and  yields  an  almost  unfailing 
return.  It  is  the  cheapest  food  for  domestic  animals,  and  in  a 
concentrated  form,  like  beef,  pork,  lard,  alcohol,  and  whisky,  will 
bear  transportation  to  every  quarter  of  the  world.  In  a  crude 


state,  it  is  a  commodity  so  bulky  and  perishable  that,  loaded  with 
the  existing  rates  of  transportation,  the  prairie  farmer  often  finds 
it  more  profitable  to  consume  it  for  fuel  than  to  ship  it  to  the  sea- 
board. That  which  is  retailed  to  the  New  England  operative  at 
60  cents  per  bushel,  nets  to  him  less  than  9  cents — the  difference 
"being  used  up  in  freights  and  commissions.  The  consequence  is, 
that  only  about  five  per  cent,  of  this  cereal,  in  its  crude  state, 
reaches  the  sea-board. 

Estimating  the  future  by  the  past,  it  is  impossible  to  assign 
limits  to  the  productive  power  of  the  North-West.  That  power 
will  keep  pace  with  the  world's  demand  for  cheap  bread — a  demand 
always  craving  but  never  satisfied.  Hostile  legislation  may  under- 
take to  confine  its  passage  to  particular  channels,  and  interested 
parties  to  levy  extortionate  charges  on  its  transit;  but  the  recip- 
rocal interest  of  producer  and  consumer  will  be  sufficiently  powerful 
to  sweep  away  all  such  obstacles.  The  universal  sentiment  of 
mankind,  as  well  as  the  dictates  of  a  sound  political  economy, 
demands  that  products  of  such  vital  necessity  to  the  race  shall  be 
incumbered  with  the  least  possible  restraints. 

MINERAL   BESOUBCES LAKE    SUPERIOR   MINING   BEGION. 

Prior  to  1845,  Lake  Superior  was  regarded  almost  as  a  mare 
clausum; — one  or  two  vessels  in  the  employment  of  the  British 
and  American  Fur  Companies  being  the  only  ones  whose  canvas 
whitened  those  magnificent  waters.  The  trade  of  that  region,  now 
estimated  at  $22,000,000  per  annum,  requires  about  200  vessels  for 
its  transaction. 

The  copper-mining  of  this  region  has  become  one  of  the  great 
industrial  interests  of  the  country,  giving  employment  to  probably 
10,000  miners,  and  yielding  an  annual  product  which  goes  far  to 
supply  the  wants  for  home  consumption.  The  native  metal — for 
under  this  form  it  is  almost  exclusively  found — yields  a  copper- 
sheathing,  which,  for  purity  and  tenacity,  is  far  superior  to  any 
foreign  product. 

The  cupriferous  belt  extends,  on  the  southern  shore  of  that  lake, 
from  the  head  of  Keweenaw  Point  to  beyond  the  Ontonagon — the 
productive  portion  being  about  100  miles  in  length,  and  from  2  to 
10  miles  in  width. 

The  following  statement  shows  the  annual  yield,  in  tons,  of  the 
mines,  from  the  commencement  of  mining  operations  up  to  the 
present  year : 


AGGREGATE  SHIPMENTS  OF  COPPER  FROM  LAKE  SUPERIOR.  FROM  1845  TO  1862. 

Ton*,    fljs. 

Value. 

Shipments  in  1845  

.1300 

S'290 

"               1846  , 

29. 

2,619 

"               1847  , 

239. 

107,550 

"               1848  

516. 

206,400 

"                1849  

750. 

301,200 

"               1850  , 

640. 

266,000 

"                1851  , 

872. 

348,800 

"                1852  

887. 

300,460 

"                185S  

1,452. 

508,200 

"                1854  

2,800. 

805,000 

"                1855  , 

3,196. 

1,437,000 

"                1856  , 

5,726. 

2,400,100 

"                1857  , 

6,759. 

2,015,650 

"                1858  

5,896. 

1,610,000 

"                1859  

6.041. 

1,932,000 

"                1860  

8,614. 

2,520,000 

"                1861  , 

10,337. 

8,180,000 

"                1862  , 

10,000. 

4,000,000 

IRON    ORES. 

The  ores  occur  in  mountain  masses,  [sufficient  to  furnish  an 
unlimited  quantity  of  the  purest  iron  for  all  time.  They  occupy  a 
belt  from  six  to  twenty-five  miles  wide,  and  extend  from  about  the 
parallel  of  Chocolate  river  150  miles  west,  into  Wisconsin. 
The  nearest  point  at  which  these  ores  approach  Lake  Superior 
is  south  of  Marquette,  distant  twelve  miles.  A  railroad  has  been 
constructed  sixteen  miles  in  length,  so  as  to  intersect  three  of  these 
great  deposits,  and  the  amount  of  ore  brought  down  each  year  is 
largely  on  the  increase,  as  is  shown  in  the  following  returns  from 
the  Marquette  Journal^  of  January  16,  1863  : 

THE  IRON  PRODUCT  OF  THE  LAKE  SUPERIOR  -  SHIPMENTS  OF  IRON  ORE. 


Tear. 
1855  

Jackson 
Iron  Company. 

Cleveland 
Iron  Company. 

1,447 

Lake  Superior 
Iron  Company. 

Total 
Gross  tons. 

1,447 

1856  

4,497 

7  100 

11  597 

1857  

13  912 

12  272 

26  184 

1858  

11  104 

19  931 

81  035 

1859  

10  662 

80,844 

24,668 

65  679 

I860  

41  286 

42  696 

88  016 

116  998 

1861  

12  919 

7  311 

25,200 

45  430 

1862  

42  767 

85  244 

87,710 

116  721 

Total  amount  shipped  to  date 414,091 


These  ores  are  the  peroxide,  or  specular  variety,  often  nearly 
chemically  pure,  but  generally  contain  a  small  quantity  of  sili- 
cious  matter.  There  is  hardly  a  trace  of  sulphur,  phosphorus, 
or  titanic  acid,  and  the  product  is  a  fine,  tough,  fibrous  iron.  "No 
mining  is  required,  for  the  ores  lying  in  great  knobs,  or  ledges,  are 
worked  in  an  open  quarry.  These  ores  are  in  great  demand  in 
western  Pennsylvania  and  northern  Ohio,  where  they  are  mixed 
with  the  carbonates  of  the  Coal  Measures,  by  which  combination 
the  quality  of  the  iron  is  vastly  improved. 

There  is  no  portion  of  the  North- West  which  will  be  more  bene- 
fited by  an  ample  water-communication,  than  the  Iron  Region  of 
Lake  Superior.  With  cheap  freights,  these  ores  can  be  sent  to  the 
sea-board,  or  wherever  cheap  fuel  obtains.  As  they  yield  over  50 
per  cent,  of  pure  iron  in  the  working,  they  will  bear  a  long  trans- 
portation. A  railway  is  about  to  be  constructed,  uniting  the  head 
of  Bay  du  Noquet  of  Lake  Michigan,  with  the  mouth  of  Choco- 
late river  of  Lake  Superior,  the  distance  being  46f  miles.  This  is 
an  important  link  in  internal  communication  ;  first,  as  affording  an 
additional  outlet  for  these  ores  ;  second,  as  shortening  the  voyage 
to  Lake  Superior  five  or  six  days,  and  avoiding  the  difficult  naviga- 
tion of  the  St.  Mary's  river ;  third,  as  protracting  the  water- 
communication  each  season  with  that  region  at  least  six  weeks  ;  and 
fourth,  as  enabling  us  to  preserve  an  uninterrupted  intercourse 
with  that  region,  in  the  event  of  a  war  with  Great  Britain. 

SALT-BASIN    OF   MICHIGAN. 

Within  the  last  few  years  a  valuable  salt-basin  has  been  devel- 
oped in  the  region  of  Saginaw  Valley,  in  the  Lower  Peninsula  of 
Michigan,  which  is  estimated  to  be  17,000  square  miles  in  extent. 
The  product  in  1862  had  reached  1,270,000  bushels — the  result  of 
twenty-two  wells — and  the  number  has  now  reached  about  one 
hundred,  whose  product  for  the  present  year  is  estimated  at 
4,000,000  bushels,  which  will  find  its  principal  market  in  the 
Western  States.  The  product  of  the  Onondaga  Salt  Springs, 
which  last  year  reached  9,054,000  bushels,  has  heretofore  been 
largely  absorbed  by  the  North- West,  having  been  used  in  Nashville 
and  even  Leavenworth ;  while  not  less  than  1,360,000  bushels  were 
shipped  to  Chicago  and  Milwaukee. 


GOLD   DEPOSITS    OF    THE    ROCKY     MOUNTAINS. 

Recent  geological  explorations  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
Rocky  mountains  are  auriferous  throughout  their  entire  range  in 
the  United  States,  from  Mexico  on  the  south,  to  the  British  Pos- 
sessions on  the  north,  extending  from  latitude  31°  30'  south,  to  49° 
north,  and  from  longitude  102°  to  the  Pacific  coast,  embracing 
portions  of  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Colorado,  all  of  New  Mexico,  with 
Arizona,  Utah,  Nevada,  California,  Oregon,  and  Washington  Ter- 
ritories. The  region  comprises,  according  to  the  Commissioner 
of  the  General  Land  Office,  seventeen  degrees  of  latitude,  or  a 
breadth  of  1,100  miles,  from  north  to  south,  and  is  of  nearly  equal 
longitudinal  extension,  making  an  area  of  more  than  1,000,000 
square  miles.  It  is  traversed  from  north  to  south,  first  on  the 
Pacific  side  by  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  the  Cascade  mountains,  then 
by  the  Blue  and  Humboldt  mountains,  Wasatch,  the  Wind  River 
chain,  and  the  Sierra  Madre,  stretching  longitudinally  and  in 
lateral  spurs,  crossed  and  linked  together  by  intervening  ridges. 

In  addition  to  gold,  Nevada  and  New  Mexico  are  rich  in  silver. 

In  the  Salmon  river  district,  the  yield  of  gold  for  the  present 
year  is  estimated  at  $20,000,000 ;  while  the  whole  yield  of  the 
region  is  estimated  by  the  Commissioner  at  $100,000,000. 

These  figures  seem  startling,  when  it  is  considered  that,  prior  to 
the  discovery  of  the  California  mines,  the  annual  gold-product  of 
the  world  was  estimated  at  only  $18,000,000. 

This  region  is  rapidly  filling  up  with  adventurers,  who  are  to  be 
fed  and  clothed,  and  supplied  with  all  the  comforts  and  conveniences 
of  civilized  life.  They  must  be  bound  to  the  parent  States  not  simply 
by  the  ties  of  early  association,  but  by  those  of  interest.  In  all  min- 
ing enterprises,  collossal  machinery  is  required ;  the  steam-engine 
must  be  employed  to  pump,  to  lift,  to  crush,  to  wash,  and  to  perform 
a  vast  variety  of  processes  which  human  hands  could  hardly  accom- 
plish. It  was  politic  to  extend  to  this  region  a  Pacific  railway ; 
it  will  be  politic  to  afford  to  its  inhabitants,  as  far  as  practicable, 
a  cheap  water-communication.  It  is  a  matter  of  deep  interest  to 
them  whether  their  supplies,  for  two-thirds  of  the  distance,  are 
moved  by  rail  or  by  water. 

These  are  the  elements  of  a  commerce,  which,  although  in  its 
infancy,  has  already  assumed  gigantic  proportions,  and  is  clamor- 
ing for  additional  outlets. 


78 


COST    OP    TRANSPORTATION. 

This  subject  has  been  elaborately  investigated  by  Me  Alpine, 
while  State  Engineer  of  New  York,  with  the  following  results : 

Mills  per  ton 
per  mile. 

Ocean,  long  voyage 1£ 

"      short      "       2  to  6 

Lakes,  long      "       2 

"      short      "       3  to  4 

Hudson  river 2^ 

Mississippi  and  St.  Lawrence 3 

Erie  Canal,  enlarged 4 

Ordinary  canals 5 

Railroads,  ordinary  grades 12^  to  13£ 

Assuming  these  rates  as  being  substantially  correct,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  relative  cost  of  transportation  by  rail,  as  compared  with 
the  other  modes  of  conveyance,  is  as  follows : 

Per  Cent,  greater. 

By  Rail,  over  Ocean  Transportation 733.3 

Great  Lakes        "       525.0 

Mississippi  and  St.  Lawrence  Transportation  ...  .316.6 

Hudson  "  400.0 

Illinois  Improvement  "  ....257.1 

Erie  canal  enlarged  "  ...  .215.0 

Ordinary  canal  "  ....150.0 

These  are  the  elements,  from  which  any  one  interested  in  this 
subject,  can  compute  the  practical  effects  upon  the  productive  in- 
dustry of  the  country,  and  the  enlarged  area  it  will  give  to  culti- 
vation,— the  result  of  increased  avenues  of  communication  between 
the  Mississippi  and  the  sea-board.  The  producer  will  have  new 
motives  to  multiply  his  crops,  while  to  the  consumer  will  be  held 
out  the  prospect  of  cheap  bread.  Viewed  in  its  true  light,  the 
Railroad  interest  can  interpose  no  valid  objection.  With  industry 
active  and  remunerative,  travel  will  increase,  as  well  as  the  con- 
sumption of  those  articles  which  require  a  rapid  transit,  and  for 
which  this  mode  of  conveyance  is  specially  adapted.  The  re- 
sources developed  along  the  lines  of  communication  will  more  than 
compensate  for  any  loss  of  through  traffic,  and  the  equilibrium 
between  out-going  and  returning  freights  become  far  more  con- 
stant than  it  now  is. 


•op       JSiniAi  J^O  '8 

•sai«>!  jamuing  JBAQ  "I 
•QUAYS  JNflOWV 

O 

25  i 

o    S'    S'    S 

*  For  Six  Months,  during  the  suspension  of  Navigation.  The  cost  Is  given  by  rail  ;  but,  In  the  last  column,  from  the  amount  charged  is  deducted  the  cost 
t  Amounts  charged  between  Buffalo  and  New  York  Included  in  the  same  column.  $  Existing  rates  by  rail. 

TOTAL. 

•Pa*«q0 

3 

0 

i  s  i 

o    S    S    | 

•?soo 

a 

e<»     <M     o> 

JS    S    5 

^         CO         Til         CO 

X     to     •.  iJ 

o    5    •*    S 

TO  NEW  YORK— 
Hudson  River. 

jad  pa3j«vo 

5 

OS       •*>       O 
CO       Its        0 

jj       0       O       0 

5     *"     °°     es 

•jaqsng 

3 
0 

IH        f-i        OS 

g     «d     id    oo 

•^ 

i 

3  =  5 

•a    3    -    = 

nox  aad  )soQ 

§ 

it     '       5 

§  ?r  =   5 

TO  ALBANY— 
Erie  Canal  enlarged. 

jod  p93j^nr) 

:     :     :            »    °.    •*.    * 
:     :     :            o    §    S    P 

*|8l]8TIQ 

5 

o>      e«      o 

09       •*'       Jjj 

jj     co     e>     o 

6    S    S    5 

^a 

S 

i 

1  --  s 

O       03 

uox  jad  }sc>3 

1 

*  =  = 

S       *^ 

TO  BUFFALO- 
By  Lake. 

•jaqeng 

2 

CO       tO       0 

«'    S    9 

•          1O          IO          ^ 

S    S    9    % 

•laqsng 

o 

CO       t-       O 
O        tf>        OS 

T-C 

•    ~    ~>    — 

B  s  s  s 

•aou^a 

i 

1  =  = 

a    52    .     - 

0     ° 

no'S^oo 

3 

«      -       2 

I  dp  i  .  9 

o 

TO  CHICAGO— 
Illinois  River  Improvem't. 

•pqsng 

jad  paaanqo 

5 
o 

•M 

'        -»       .:        r 

•laqang 

aaJ  isoo 

o 

O       C4        O4 

00       00       T^ 

•       0»       «0        0 

§  «'  *  § 

•aou^a 

a                        ^ 

uoi  jad  isoo 

00 

i 

*   --     r 

5^-3 
O      •- 

| 

1    S; 

2 

s^  1  i 

O    P    H 

»_ 

M 
= 

«   g  1   s 

rM 

80 


To  illustrate  the  immense  saving  to  be  effected  on  the  cost  of 
transportation,  by  the  opening  of  these  two  enlarged  avenues 
between  the  Mississippi  and  the  sea-board,  the  Committee  have 
compiled,  with  great  care,  the  preceding  table,  which  shows  the 
ordinary  freights  by  water,  and  by  rail ;  and  what  would  be  the 
actual  cost,  with  a  commodious  water-communication.  The  result 
is,  as  compared  with  the  summer-rates,  a  saving  of  one-half; 
and,  as  compared  with  the  winter-rates,  a  saving  of  two-thirds. 
These  rates  amount  to  a  virtual  prohibition,  in  ordinary  times,  on 
the  shipment  of  corn,  a  hundred  miles  west  of  Lake  Michigan. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  actual  cost  of  transporting  a  bushel 
of  corn  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Atlantic,  would  be  13T2F  cts. 

To  which  add  two  elevator  charges,       -        -  1        " 

Tolls,  say  l£  cts.  on  each  improvement,      -  3        " 

17ft  cts. 

In  the  Chicago  market  in  1861,  between  June  and  December — 
the  most  active  period  of  navigation — the  price  of  corn  vibrated 
between  20c  and  24c.  The  cost  of  transportation  from  the  Missis- 
sippi to  Chicago  was  16  cents;  while  the  cost  of  gathering,  shelling, 
and  hauling  to  a  station,  would  exceed  the  difference  between  the 
rate  for  transportation  and  the  Chicago  price ;  so  that,  if  a 
person  had  been  gratuitously  offered  a  given  amount  of  corn,  to  be 
gathered  west  of  the  Mississippi,  on  condition  that  he  sent  it  to 
the  Chicago  market,  he  could  not  have  afforded  to  accept  the 
gift.  That  year,  the  freights  paid  by  one  corporation  on  more  than 
1,500,000  bushels,  were  15TVo  cents  from  Chicago  to  Buffalo,  and 
i^rVo  from  Buffalo  to  New  York,  making,  in  all,  32T87V  cents  a 
bushel. 

The  subjoined  statement  shows  the  distances  from  some  of  the 
principal  commercial  points,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river ;  also, 
the  cost  of  transporting  a  bushel  of  corn,  via  the  improved  water- 
communication  : 


PLACES. 

Distance. 

Freight  to  Illi- 
nois river. 

Freight 
to  New  York. 

MILKS. 

1,900 

CENTS. 

15  8-10 

CKNT8. 

82  6-10 

608 

4  2-10 

21  4-10 

1193 

10  2-10 

27  4-10 

St.  Paul  

634 

5  4-10 

22  6-10 

319 

2  7-10 

19  9-10 

1,320 

12 

29  2-10 

448 

3  8-10 

21 

50 

4-10 

17  6-10 

81 

From  this  table  it  will  be  seen  what  an  immense  scope  of  country 
will  be  made  as  accessible  to  New  York,  as  Chicago  and  Milwau- 
kee are  at  this  time.  The  pioneer,  upon  the  farthest  verge  of 
settlement  in  the  vicinity  of  a  navigable  river,  will  find  his  crops 
as  remunerative  as  those  of  the  Illinois  farmer  a  hundred  miles  from 
the  Lakes. 

The  construction  of  these  works  would  add  untold  millions  to  the 
national  wealth,  and  communicate  an  impetus  to  agriculture  and 
settlement,  such  as  has  not  been  paralleled  even  in  the  past  history 
of  this  region. 

NECESSITY     OF    ADDITIONAL   OUTLETS. 

The  testimony  of  commercial  men  is  concurrent,  that  the  existing 
avenues  of  communication  between  the  Lakes  and  the  sea-board  are 
inadequate  to  accommodate  the  traffic.  For  the  past  two  years, 
the  warehouses  on  the  Lakes  have  been,  during  the  active  period  of 
navigation,  gorged  with  freight ;  the  rolling-stock  of  the  railways 
has  been  worked  to  its  full  capacity ;  every  craft  that  could  float 
upon  the  Lakes  has  been  put  under  steam,  or  canvas  ;  and  the  locks 
of  the  New  York  canal  have  proved  inadequate  to  expeditiously 
pass  the  throng  of  boats;  so  that  the  voyage  which  ought  to  have 
been  performed  in  nine  days  has  been  protracted  to  fourteen,  and 
even  twenty. 

THE    NEW   YORK  CANALS. 

The  Erie  canal  is  the  principal  outlet  through  which  the  cereals 
of  the  North- West  are  conveyed  to  tide-water.  Its  dimensions 
are  70  feet  wide  and  7  deep,  with  locks  13  feet  wide  and  110  feet 
long,  whose  contents  are  about  13,800  cubic  feet.  The  total  length 
is  350.58  miles. 

To  show  the  extent  to  which  its  transporting  capacity  is  taxed, 
your  Committee  beg  leave  to  call  attention  to  some  facts  contained 
in  the  Annual  Report  for  1862,  of  the  Auditor  of  the  Canal  Board 
of  the  State  of  New  York. 

The  total  tonnage,  its  value,  and  the  tolls  collected  on  the  canals, 
during  1862,  were  as  follows  : 

Ton*.  Value.  Tolls. 

5,598,785  $203,234,331  $5,188,943. 

The  value  of  Western  products,  passing  through  the  Erie  and 
the  Champlain  canals  to  tide- water,  has  increased  more  than  100 
per  cent  within  the  past  four  years. 
6 


82 


STATEMENT  SHOWING  THE  EASTWARD-BOUND  TRAFFIC  OF  THE  ERIE  AND   CHAM- 
PLAIN  CANALS  FOR  FOUR  YEARS  ENDING  1862. 


YEARS. 

1859. 

I860. 

1861. 

1862. 

Tons  

2,121,672 

2,854,877 

2  980  144 

3  402  709 

Value  

$53,175  312 

$78  798  617 

$81  332  759 

$111  176  568 

The  proportion  between  Way  and  Through  traffic  was  about  1.8. 

Turning  to  wheat,  it  will  be  found  that  less  than  one-tenth  was 
local,  while  more  than  nine-tenths  were  drawn  from  the  granaries 
of  the  North- West. 

STATEMENT   SHOWING  THE   MOVEMENT   OF  FLOUR    THROUGH    THE    NEW    YORK 
CANALS  TO  TIDE- WATER  FOR  FOUR  YEARS  ENDING  1862. 
(  Wheat  reduced  to  Flour.) 


YEAR. 

Bbls.  West. 

Bbls.  N.  York. 

Bbls   arriving 
at  tide-water. 

1859    

2  210,620 

1,925,402 

I860  

4,344,387 

737  321 

5,081,708 

1861  

6,712,233 

747  822 

7,457,225 

1862  

7,516,397 

843  685 

8,360,082 

The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  total  receipts  of  flour  and 
corn — wheat  being  reduced  to  flour — at  tide-water  at  New  York, 
for  1862 : 


Flour,  barrels. 

Corn,  bushels. 

8,360,082 

32,670,000 

By  Rail  

2,617,923 

450,000 

10,978,005 

33,120,000 

In  1855,  Mr.  Jarvis,  a  distinguished  engineer  of  New  York,  pre- 
dicted that,  in  fifteen  years,  there  would  be  an  eastward  movement 
of  five  millions  of  tons,  the  surplus  products  of  the  North- West. 
His  prediction  has  been  verified  in  seven  years,  or  within  one-half 
the  time  assigned. 


COST    OF   MOVING   THE    CROPS. 

The  amount  of  eastward-bound  tonnage,  including  flour,  con- 
veyed over  the  three  principal  trunk  lines  of  railway,  in  1862,  is 
shown  in  the  following 

STATEMENT   FROM    OFFICIAL   REPORTS. 

Tons  Eastward. 

New  York  Central  Railroad 616,177 

New  York  and  Erie  Railroad 471,314 

Pennsylvania  Railroad 502,884 


1,590,375 
To  which  add  by  Erie  and  Champlain  Canals 3,402,709 


TOTAL 4,993,084 

Now,  if  all  of  these  Western  commodities  were  reduced  to  as 
compact  a  form  as  flour  in  barrels,  and  we  were  to  suppose  that 
thirty  per  cent,  as  in  the  case  of  the  cereals,  came  from  the  west 
of  Lake  Michigan,  thirty  per  cent,  from  east  of  that  lake,  and  forty 
per  cent,  from  the  longitude  of  Chicago,  and  that  the  freights 
charged  were  in  proportion  to  those  on  flour,  during  the  past  sea- 
son, they  would  amount  to  more  than  $56,400,000,  as  the  cost  of 
transferring  the  annual  products  of  the  North-West  to  the  sea- 
board. To  this  should  be  added  the  freights  on  about  $11,000,000, 
which  found  their  way  through  Canada.  With  improved  facilities, 
such  as  have  been  proposed,  costing  not  to  exceed  $17,000,000, 
the  saving  in  the  movement  of  a  single  crop  would  amount  to 
$30,000,000. 

CAPACITY   OF   EXISTING    OUTLETS. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  great  thoroughfares  are  fast 
approaching  their  full  capacity  for  transportation.  The  capacity 
of  the  enlarged  Erie  canal  was  rated  by  McAlpine  at  seven  million 
tons;  but  this  was  on  the  supposition  that  the  enlarged  locks 
would  expeditiously  pass  the  boats.  Already  the  tonnage  of  the 
main  line  and  its  affluents  has  reached  five  and  one-half  millions, 
and  the  voyage,  which  ought  to  be  performed  in  nine  days,  is  pro- 
tracted to  fourteen,  and  even  twenty. 

To  show  that  these  views  are  not  exaggerated,  your  Committee 
beg  leave  to  refer  to  the  statement  of  a  highly  respectable  body  of 
gentlemen,  representing  the  Corn  Exchange  of  New  York,  and  the 
Board  of  Trade  of  Buffalo,  submitted  to  the  joint  Committee  on 


84 

Canals,  of  the  New  York  Legislature,  in  April  last,  in  which  it 
is  shown  that  the  capacity  of  the  locks  has  been  reached  the  past 
season  at  2,900,000  tons,  and  that  there  is  an  improbability  of 
increasing  the  movement  of  tonnage  by  increasing  the  number  of 
boats. 

"  The  fact  was  shown  that  during  considerable  portions  of  the  past  three  years, 
the  Erie  Canal  had  been  taxed  to  its  utmost  capacity,  not  from  deficiency  in  its 
main  trunk,  but  from  the  impossibility  of  passing  more  boats  through  its  locks ; 
that  while  the  channel  of  the  canals  was  sufficient  to  be  navigated  by  boats  of  six 
hundred  tons  burthen,  the  present  locks  could  pass  boats  of  about  two  hundred 
tons  only ;  that  while  the  channel  of  the  canals  in  question  was  70  by  7,  the  locks 
were  but  97  feet  by  18  ;  that  multiplying  boats  would  not  increase  the  transporta- 
tion of  tonnage,  for  the  reason  the  limit  of  lockage  had  been  already  reached ; 
that  while  the  channel  of  the  Erie  and  Oswego  canals  (with  resources  at  command), 
were  probably  sufficient  for  the  transportation  of  twenty  millions  of  tons  annually, 
the  capacity  of  the  present  locks  had  been  reached  the  present  season  at  2,900,000 
tons. 

"  The  improbability  of  increasing  the  movement  of  tonnage  by  increasing  the 
number  of  boats  (the  locks  remaining  as  now),  was  strikingly  illustrated  by  tables 
furnished  by  the  Auditor  of  the  Canal  Department,  viz. :  The  lockages  for  the  three 
most  active  months  of  1860  (September,  October,  and  November),  were  15,420  at 
Frankfort  (near  Utica,  which  locks  are  double).  For  the  year  1861,  there  were 
added  619  new  boats  (and  the  fact  is  notorious  that,  during  such  remunerative 
seasons  as  1860,  1861  and  1862,  few  boats  go  out  of  existence,  but  are  repaired  and 
kept  in  use)  ;  yet  the  lockages  for  the  same  months,  at  the  same  place,  for  1861, 
were  but  15,585,  showing  an  increase  of  165.  For  the  year  1862,  were  added  850 
new  boats  to  the  number  in  use  in  1861  (an  increase  of  1,469  over  the  number  of 
boats  in  use  in  1860),  yet  the  lockages,  by  the  most  extraordinary  exeitions,  by 
employing  additional  men,  stationary  power  at  the  locks,  abundance  of  water,  and 
with  singular  exemption  from  break?,  were  brought  up  to  but  17,083  during  the  same 
period — an  increase  upon  1860  of  1,663;  whereas,  with  adequate  locks,  the  increased 
number  of  boats,  for  1861  should  have  shown  an  increased  lockage  of  3,714,  instead 
of  but  165,  and  for  the  year  1862,  a  lockage  of  8,994,  instead  of  but  1,663.  It  should 
be  borne  in  mind,  while  these  lockages  are  actual,  that  the  season  of  I860  was  cut 
short  of  1861  and  1862  fully  two  weeks,  by  early  ice;  that  in  1860,  boats  which 
cleared  at  Buffalo  on  the  17th  of  November,  were  frozen  in  west  of  Albany,  while  in 
1861  and  1862,  boats  reached  New  York  which  cleared  at  Buffalo  as  late  as  Novem- 
ber 26th ;  therefore,  had  canal  navigation  of  1860  remained  uninterrupted  by  ice 
as  late  as  was  that  of  1861  or  1862,  there  is  every  probability  the  lockages  of  1860 
would  have  been  as  great  as  those  of  1861  and  1862.  These  lockages  represent 
the  number  of  trips  made  by  boats  during  the  three  months  under  examination ; 
therefore,  the  differences  between  the  number  of  actual  lockages  proportional  to 
the  number  of  boats  employed,  compared  with  those  of  1860,  multiplied  by  the 
average  tonnage  of  canal  boats,  unmistakably  represent  the  loss  of  tonnage  to  the 
canals  during  that  period. 

"  The  inadequacy  of  the  locks  to  the  present  channel  of  the  canals  was  further 


85 

illustrated  by  the  many  miles  of  boats  constantly  accumulated  at  Rochester,  wait- 
ing their  turn  at  the  Brighton  lock,  so  called ;  and  at  Syracuse,  at  the  first  lock 
east  of  the  junction  of  the  Oswego  canal,  showing  that  whilft  these  boats  had 
passed  readily  along  the  levels,  they  suffered  detention  only  &\  the  locks ;  thus, 
while  ten  to  twelve  days  should  be  ample  time  to  run  a  loaded  boat  from  Buffalo  to 
New  York,  eighteen  to  twenty-two  are  now  required,  consequently,  a  loss  in  time 
of  nearly  thirty-three  per  cent." 

MULTIPLICATION  OF   RAILROADS   AN    INADEQUATE   RELIEF. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  trunk  lines  of  railway  can  accom- 
modate this  growing  commerce,  for  the  reasons,  first,  that  it  will 
not  bear  this  expensive  transit;  and  second,  that  with  their  large 
passenger-business,  and  fast  freight-lines,  for  the  conveyance  of 
merchandise  and  perishable  articles,  such  as  fresh  meats,  vegeta- 
bles, etc.,  constituting  the  daily  food  of  the  great  cities,  they 
combined  could  not  convey  eastward  an  additional  million  of  tons. 
The  four  great  American  outlets,  then,  (the  New  York  canals, 
the  New  York  Central,  Erie,  and  Pennsylvania  railways), 
have  a  capacity,  at  the  highest  estimate,  to  accommodate  only 
about  two  and  one-half  additional  millions  of  tons  ;  and  that,  too, 
in  view  of  an  eastward-bound  commerce  through  those  channels, 
whose  increase  will  at  an  early  day  reach  the  full  limits  of  their 
capacity. 

These  facts  demonstrate  the  absolute  necessity  of  additional 
outlets — cheap,  commodious  and  expeditious — for  Western  com- 
modities, or  production,  up  to  the  point  already  attained,  must 
cease. 

To  relieve  the  existing  glut  in  transportation,  it  has  been  pro- 
posed to  construct  additional  railways. 

When  railroads  were  first  introduced,  it  was  supposed  by  many 
that  they  would  supersede  canals  ;  and  that  expeditious  transport, 
though  at  an  increased  cost,  would  counterbalance  the  cheapness 
of  water-communication.  Experience,  however,  has  shown  that 
this  supposition  was  fallacious,  and  the  relative  advantages  of 
these  two  modes  of  transport  are  now  fully  understood ;  and  per- 
haps, there  is  no  more  striking  example  of  this  than  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  where  the  Central  railroad  and  the  Erie  canal  stretch 
coterminous  through  that  State.  The  one  is  employed  for  the 
expeditious  transportation  of  passengers,  of  perishable  articles 
requiring  immediate  consumption,  and  of  those  to  which  an  en- 
hanced value  has  been  communicated  by  the  industry  of  man  ; 


86 

the  other  for  those  crude  and  bulky  articles,  which,  in  the  absence 
of  canals,  would  yield  to  the  producer  little  or  no  return.  In  the 
one  case,  time  becomes  an  element  of  value,  for  which  the  con- 
sumer is  content  to  pay ;  in  the  other,  it  is  a  matter  of  slight  im- 
portance. 

The  Committee  have  already  shown  that,  under  the  existing  rates 
of  transportation,  the  export  of  corn  is  bounded  by  the  western 
shore  of  Michigan ;  but  with  an  improved  water-communication, 
it  would  be  extended  to  the  farthest  confines  of  settlement.  Now, 
if  the  corn  of  the  Western  farmer,  when  charged  with  freights, 
through  a  water-communication,  of  twenty-five  cents  a  bushel, 
between  Chicago  and  New  York,  yields  him  no  profit ;  if  his 
wheat,  charged  also,  with  twenty-seven  cents  a  bushel,  is  excluded 
from  the  markets  of  the  world,  except  in  case  of  public  famine, 
what  relief  is  it  to  him  to  construct  additional  modes  of  convey- 
ance, on  which  the  charges  are  100  per  cent,  higher  than  by  the 
existing  routes  ? 

EASTERN   DEPENDENCE    ON   WESTERN    BREAD-STUFFS. 

The  cereals  of  the  North- West  having  found  their  way  to  New 
York,  it  is  proper  to  trace  their  distribution ; — to  show  how  much  is 
required  to  feed  the  inhabitants  of  the  sea-board,  and  how  much 
remains  to  form  the  basis  of  our  foreign  commerce. 

By  the  census  returns  of  1860,  it  appears  that  New  England 
raises  wheat  barely  sufficient  to  feed  her  population  three  weeks ; 
New  York,  six  months ;  Pennsylvania  is  about  self-sustaining ; 
while  Ohio  yields  a  surplus  of  less  than  3,000,000  bushels.  In  these 
States,  during  the  last  decade,  there  was  a  falling  off  in  the  amount 
of  production  to  the  extent  of  6,500,000  bushels,  while  the  increase 
in  the  North- West  exceeded  55,000,000  bushels. 

FOREIGN   EXPORTATION. 

After  supplying  the  deficiencies  of  the  sea-board  States,  the 
North- West  has  a  surplus  of  bread-stuffs  and  provisions  for  export- 
ation, which,  in  four  years  has  increased  in  value  from 
$38,300,000  to  $122,650,000,  which  is — exclusive  of  specie — nearly 
70  per  cent,  of  our  foreign  exports.  To  this  may  be  added 
$11,100,043,  largely  grain,  which  went  out  through  Canada, 
making  the  aggregate  over  $133,750,000.  This  is  shown  by  the 
annexed  statement  taken  from  the  reports  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury. 


STATEMENT  SHOWING  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  DOMESTIC  EXPORTS  OP  THE  UNITED 
STATES,  EXCLUDING  SPECIE,  FOB  THE  LAST  FOUR  YEARS. 


ARTICLES. 

TEAR  ENDING  JUNE  80. 

1859. 

1860. 

1861. 

1862. 

Total  Exports  

$278,392,080 
88,805,991 

21,769,627 
6,884,647 

$816,242,428 
46,271,850 

11,264,590 
2,918,524 

$204,166,299 
94,866,785 

11,016,664 
2,505,785 

$181,875,988 
122,660,043 

11,100,069 

Bread-staffs  and  Provisions  . 

Domestic  Exports  to  Canada 
(largely  grain)  

Foreign  Exports  

These  statistics  show  that  the  export  of  bread-stuffs  and  pro- 
visions in  two  years  increased  nearly  180  per  cent,  in  value;  and 
in  three  years,  220  per  cent. 


MATERIAL   PROSPERITY   OF   NEW  YORK. 

This  vast  mass  of  vegetable  and  animal  food,  moving  from  the 
West  to  the  East,  with  all  the  regularity  of  an  ocean-current,  has 
enriched  the  region  along  its  route.  It  has  been  the  main  source 
of  revenue  to  the  New  York  canals  and  railways.  It  is  the  prin- 
cipal mine,  from  which  New  York  city  has  derived  her  opulence 
and  commercial  greatness.  The  highlands  of  the  Hudson  are  the 
gateways  of  a  commerce,  such  as  Venice,  in  her  palmiest  days, 
never  dreamed  of.  She,  not  simply  by  her  geographical  position, 
but  by  the  extended  system  of  internal  improvements,  constructed 
by  the  State  and  public  corporations,  has  been  enabled  to  exact 
tribute  upon  nearly  every  article,  whether  produced  or  consumed 
by  the  North-West ;  upon  the  raw  material,  as  well  as  the  manu- 
factured fabric ;  upon  the  proceeds  of  the  outward  voyage, 
as  well  as  the  return  cargo.  She  has  made  herself  the  connecting 
link  between  two  continents ;  the  centre  to  which  converge  all 
the  great  lines  of  trade ;  the  mart  to  receive  and  distribute  the 
imports  and  exports  of  a  continent. 

The  Committee  might  go  further,  and  show  how  much  more 
lucrative  to  New  York  has  been  her  commerce  in  corn,  than  in 
cotton ;  how  the  one,  from  the  time  it  started  from  the  banks  of 


88 

the  Mississippi,  until  it  arrived  at  the  sea-board,  scattered  riches  in 
its  path ;  how  the  other,  leaving  a  Gulf  port,  simply  touched  at 
New  York,  and  then  departed  for  some  English  mart,  leaving 
behind  no  substantial  benefit.  The  one  is  like  a  noble  river, 
fertilizing  the  region  through  which  it  flows ;  the  other  as  barren 
as  the  ocean  on  which  it  floats. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  public  sentiment  requires,  and  has  a 
right  to  demand,  that  the  State  of  New  York  shall  hold  this  great 
thoroughfare — this  connecting  link  between  the  East  and  the  West — 
not  for  local  aggrandizement,  or  State  revenue,  but  as  the  trustee 
of  the  nation ;  and  impose  only  such  tolls  on  commerce  as  shall  be 
required  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  work,  and  ultimately  pay 
the  cost  of  construction. 

FOBEIGN    DEMAND    FOE   THE    STJEPLUS   OF   THE    NOETH-WEST. 

The  question  of  demand  and  supply  remains  to  be  considered  ; 
whether  the  European  nations  will  require  Western  bread-stuffs  and 
provisions  only  to  a  limited  extent,  and  that,  therefore,  production, 
up  to  that  point,  must  cease  ;  or  whether  they  will  absorb  our  sur- 
plus, however  great  In  reply,  it  may  be  stated  as  a  general  truth, 
that  there  is  not  an  instance  in  human  history,  so  closely  does  popu- 
lation press  on  the  means  of  sustenance,  of  a  vast  accumulation  of 
food,  beyond  the  wants  of  consumers. 

The  existing  population  of  the  European  States  is  estimated  at- 
280,000,000,  of  whom  150,000,000  are  consumers  of  cereals  to  the 
amount  of  nearly  1,000,000,000  of  bushels.  The  means  to  further 
production  are  limited  by  the  obstacles  interposed  by  nature, 
against  which  it  is  in  vain  for  man  to  contend, — inhospitable 
mountains,  barren  wastes,  and  irreclaimable  marshes.  The  most 
serious  obstacle,  therefore,  to  the  increase  of  population  will  be 
the  limits  placed  on  the  production  of  human  food ;  but,  through 
the  equalizing  effects  of  commerce,  it  is  safe  to  presume  that  there 
will,  at  all  times,  exist  an  active  demand  for  our  surplus  bread- 
stuffs,  in  exchange  for  the  peculiar  products  of  their  soil,  climate, 
and  industry  ;  and  this  demand  will  keep  pace  with  the  density  of 
their  population.  Speculations,  therefore,  as  to  the  probability  of 
glutting  the  foreign  market  seem  idle  and  misplaced. 

The  dependence  of  Great  Britain  upon  foreign  supplies  each 
year  becomes  more  apparent.  In  1855,  it  amounted  to  59.02  per 
cent.;  and  in  1860,  it  rose  to  88  per  cent. 


89 


STATEMENT,  FROM  OFFICIAL  SOURCES,  SHOWING  THE  AMOUNT  OF  WHEAT  AND 
OTHER  GRAIN,  AND  FLOUR,  IMPORTED  FROM  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  OTHER 
COUNTRIES  INTO  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  FOR  FOUR  YEARS 
ENDING  1861. 


WHEAT. 


1858. 


1850. 


1860. 


1801. 


Qrs. 

United  States 594,644 

Other  Countries 8,647,075 

Total 4,241,719 

GRAIN— OTHER  KINDS. 

Qrs. 

United  States 899,807 

Other  Countries 5,545,789 

Total 5,945,546 

GRAIN— ALL  KINDS. 

Cwt. 

United  States 1,764,795 

Other  Countries 2,091,882 

Total  Owt 8,856,121 

In  Quarters 1,101,750 

FLOUR. 

Qrs. 

United  States 1,098,871 

Other  Countries 4,244,598 

Total 5,848,469 

GRAIN  AND  MEAL. 

Qrs. 

United  States 1,500,481 

Other  Countries 9,798,224 

GRAND  TOTAL 11,298,705 


Qrs. 

86,906 
8,964,016 
4,000,922 


Qrs. 

1,499,885 
4,881,578 
5.880,958 


Qrs. 

2,507,744 
4,405,071 
6,912,815 


Qrs. 

9,948 
5,807,818 


6,817,761 


Qrs. 

476,178 
6,649,484 


7,125,662 


Qrs. 

1,779,652 
5,586,587 


7,366,289 


Cwt. 

216,462 
8,111,862 


8,828,824 
950,949 


Cwt. 

2,254,288 
2,881,988 


6,086,220 
1,458,205 


Cwt. 

8,795,866 
2,858,07S 


6,152,988 
1,757,982 


Qrs. 

98,752 
4,858,119 
4,951,871 


Qrs. 

2,148,451 
5,190,718 


7,884,164 


Qrs. 

8,591,991 
5,078,806 


8,670,797 


Qrs. 

109,275 
10,161,499 
10,270,774 


Qrs. 

2,624,005 
11,878,971 
14,497,976 


Qrs. 

6,898,176 
10,696,788 
16,094,914 


90 

The  imports  for  1862  were,  according  to  the  London  Gazette^ 
as  follows : 

Wheat,  Quarters 9,542,359 

Indian  Corn,  Quarters 2,751,261 

Flour,  Cwt 7,314,331 

CONTINENTAL    SOURCES    OF    SUPPLY. 

The  great  European  port  for  wheat-shipping  is  Dantzic,  on  the 
Baltic.  The  wheat  is  raised  in  Galicia  and  Poland,  from  five  to 
seven  hundred  miles  inland,  and  brought  to  the  sea-board  in  flat- 
bottomed  boats,  suited  to  the  navigation  of  rivers  usually  shoal, 
and  abounding  in  rapids, — a  mode  of  conveyance  both  tedious  and 
expensive,  costing  from  6s.  6c?.  ($1.56),  to  9s.  2d.  ($2.20),  per  quar- 
ter to  place  it  at  Dantzic.  These  rates  would  be  from  16  cents 
to  23  cents  a  bushel ; — higher  than  the  rates  between  the  Missis- 
sippi and  the  Atlantic,  with  an  improved  navigation. 

Another  great  source  of  supply  is  the  Black  Sea  ports.  The 
Dneister,  the  Dneiper,  the  Don  and  Volga  are  navigable,  but 
abound  in  shoals  and  rapids.  Wheat  is  sent  to  Odessa  and 
Kertch  by  these  streams  ;  and  by  land,  it  is  brought  to  market  in 
waggons,  often  from  a  distance  of  many  hundred  miles. 

The  route  between  Odessa  and  Liverpool  is  circuitous,  and  con- 
sumes as  much  time  as  is  required  to  cross  the  Atlantic.  It  is 
necessary  that  the  voyage  be  performed  in  the  winter  season,  in 
consequence  of  the  heated  waters  of  the  Mediterranean ;  for  it 
often  happens  that  cargoes  of  wheat  arriving  in  summer  have  to  be 
removed  with  the  pick-axe.  The  price  on  board  at  Odessa  consid- 
erably exceeds  40s.  per  quarter,  and  the  expense  of  importing  is 
from  16s.  to  18s. 

In  1861,  England  imported  grain  of  all  kinds — 

From  Southern  Russia 1,282,127  qrs. 

From  the  Baltic 1,532,783     " 

From  British  America,  a  considerable  portion  of  which  was 

derived  from  the  United  States 1,188,839     " 

From  the  United  States 5,398,176     " 

From  no  other  country  did  she  derive  a  million  quarters. 

ABILITY   TO    COMPETE    WITH   FOREIGN   MARKETS. 

. 

The  average  English  price  of  wheat  for  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century,  has  been  54s.  Qd.  per  imperial  quarter  of  70  Ibs.,  which 


91 

would  be  equivalent  to  $1.42  for  an  American  bushel.  The  conti- 
nental price  is  6s.  Qd.  less,  that  being  the  cost  of  transportation  to 
England,  per  quarter,  which,  on  an  American  bushel,  would  equal 
16T7T  cents. 

Now,  with  an  improved  water-communication,  the  cost  of 
shipping  a  bushel  of  wheat  from  the  Mississippi  to  New  York, 
and  thence  to  Liverpool,  would  be — 

Cents. 

By  Canals,  Lakes  and  Rivers 14.2 

Tolls,  say 3.0 

Three  Elevator-charges 1.5 

Insurance  and  Commissions 1.7 

Ocean,  3,160  miles,  at  $5  per  ton 15.0 

Cost  to  Liverpool 35.4 

Where  it  would  be  worth 142.0 

Netting  to  the  Shipper 106.6 

To  which  add  Premium  on  Exchange 10.7 

Making tl.17.3 

Which  would  be  a  discrimination  of  only  8  cents  against  the 
American  producer,  as  compared  with  the  continental  price,  and 
would  make  the  average  price  of  wheat  $1.06  on  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi ;  $1.00  at  St.  Paul;  and  80  cents  at  Fort  Union, 
with  the  allowance  of  a  margin  of  10  per  cent,  for  contingencies. 

When  we  consider  the  character  of  the  wheat-growing  region 
of  the  North- West,  the  cheapness  of  the  lands,  the  fertility  of  the 
soil,  and  the  facility  with  which  it  is  cultivated, — that  all  of  the 
processes  of  sowing,  reaping,  harvesting,  binding,  threshing  and 
winnowing,  are  done  expeditiously  by  machinery,  the  American 
farmer  may  successfully  enter  the  lists  of  European  competition, 
and  contend  for  a  monopoly  of  the  provision-market  of  the  world. 
He  need  not  depend  on  any  accidental  deficiency  in  the  crops  of 
Europe,  but  rely  on  a  nearly  unvarying  market  for  all  his  surplus 
crops  abroad.  This  traffic  in  human  food  will  prove  a  greater 
power  than  ever  cotton  was,  and  give  us  a  strength,  and  position 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  far  above  what  we  have  already 
attained. 

The  Committee  have  thus  imperfectly  sketched  the  great  features 
of  this  commerce;  but,  in  traversing  a  field  so  vast,  have  been 
compelled  to  leave  out  many  subordinate  details.  The  facts  ad- 
duced show  how  essential  the  construction  of  these  works  is  to  the 
future  prosperity  of  the  North- West,  and  to  the  whole  country. 


92 


IMPORTANCE  OF  A  SHIP-CANAL. 


The  Committee  have  thus  adverted  to  the  magnitude  of  the 
products  of  the  North- West,  the  burdens  to  which  they  are  sub- 
jected in  their  passage  to  the  sea-board,  and  the  extent  to  which 
they  enter  into  our  external  commerce,  and  contribute  to  the 
national  wealth.  While  almost  every  other  industrial  interest  of 
the  country, — the  coal  and  iron  of  Pennsylvania,  the  manufactur- 
ing of  New  England,  and  the  salt  of  New  York, — is  protected  by 
discriminating  duties  of  thirty  per  cent.,  we  search  the  statute- 
book  in  vain  for  any  legislation,  which  tends  directly  in  aid  of 
agriculture — the  main-spring  of  all  our  prosperity. 

It  is  proposed  to  consider  this  question  in  three  aspects,  viz. : 

I.   NATIONAL, 

As  tending  to  bind  together  different  parts  of  the  Union,  and 
uniting  the  people  by  the  ties  of  mutual  interests  and  social  con- 
nections ;  and  as  developing  the  resources  of  distant  regions,  and 
thereby  contributing  to  the  national  greatness. 

H.    COMMERCIAL, 

As  affording  a  cheap  and  expeditious  communication  between 
regions  widely  separated,  and  as  admitting  of  a  free  interchange 
of  the  products  of  different  climes,  and  of  different  industries, 
giving  activity  to  labor,  and  a  profitable  return  to  capital. 

m.  MILITARY, 

As  connected  with  the  defense  of  the  country,  using  such  a  commu- 
nication as  a  means  of  transferring  gun-boats  from  one  system  of 
waters  to  another,  and  of  rapidly  concentrating  them  at  points 
widely  asunder,  thus  making  a  small  armament  as  efficient  as  a 
large  one. 


93 


NATIONAL  ASPECTS. 

CONSTITUTIONAL   POWER   OF    CONGRESS. 

The  Constitution  empowers  Congress  to  do  all  necessary  acts  to 
provide  for  the  COMMON  DEFENSE,  and  to  promote  the  GENERAL 
WELFARE. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  in  1801,  on  assuming  the  duties  of  the  Presidency, 
announced  as  among  the  leading  objects  of  the  Constitution — "  the 
encouragement  of  agriculture,  and  of  commerce,  its  handmaid." 

Mr.  Madison,  the  Father  of  the  Constitution,  in  1809,  when 
called  to  the  same  exalted  position,  uttered  a  similar  declara- 
tion,— "  to  promote  by  authorized  means,  improvements  friendly 
to  agriculture,  to  manufactures,  and  to  external  and  internal 
commerce;"  and,  in  1816,  he  called  the  attention  of  Congress 
to  the  importance  of  devising  a  comprehensive  scheme  of  roads 
and  canals,  "  such  as  shall  have  the  effect  of  drawing  more  closely 
together,  every  part  in  the  common  stock  of  national  prosperity." 

As  far  back  as  1807,  Albert  Gallatin,  one  of  the  most  far-seeing 
and  sagacious  of  our  statesmen,  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
submitted  an  elaborate  report  to  the  Senate  on  the  importance  of 
constructing  roads  and  canals  by  the  Government,  as  a  means  of 
affording  speedy  and  easy  communication  between  remote  parts 
of  the  country,  to  facilitate  commercial  and  personal  intercourse, 
and  to  unite  the  people  by  a  still  more  intimate  community  of 
interests.  In  that  report  he  states, — "No  other  single  power  of  gov- 
ernment can  more  effectually  tend  to  strengthen  and  perpetuate 
that  union,  which  secures  external  independence,  domestic  peace, 
and  internal  liberty." 

There  has,  from  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  existed  a  class 
of  men  who  viewed  with  extreme  distrust  every  exercise  of  power 
on  the  part  of  the  Government,  for  the  promotion  of  the  general 
welfare.  All  schemes  to  facilitate  communication  between  remote 
territories,  to  remove  obstructions  in  the  pathway  of  commerce, 
or  to  develop  particular  branches  of  industry,  have  been  pro- 
nounced unconstitutional ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  all  attempts 
to  fortify  the  the  approaches  to  our  territory,  to  build  up  and  equip 
an  efficient  navy,  and  to  maintain  a  well-disciplined  army,  have 
been  denounced  as  a  wasteful  expenditure  of  money.  But  the  events 
of  the  last  two  years  have  taught  us  a  far  different  lesson;  and  that 
ours  is  not  an  exception  to  the  history  of  other  nations  who  have 
preserved  their  integrity  only  by  the  strong  arm  of  power. 


94 

"  To  govern  an  extended  empire,"  using  the  words  of  Gibbon, 
with  a  slight  alteration,  "  requires  a  refined  system  of  policy ;  in 
the  centre,  a  strong  power,  prompt  in  action  and  rich  in  resources; 
a  swift  and  easy  communication  with  the  extreme  parts ;  fortifica- 
tions to  check  the  first  effort  of  rebellion ;  a  regular  administration 
to  protect  and  punish  ;  and  a  well-disciplined  army  to  inspire  fear, 
without  producing  discontent  and  despair." 

THIS   POWER   EEPEATEDLY   EXERCISED. 

This  power  has  been  repeatedly  exercised  by  Congress ; — for 
example,  in  the  construction  of  the  National  Road,  which  was  the 
first  commodious  channel  of  communication  between  the  Valley  of 
the  Mississippi  and  the  sea-board;  in  subscriptions  to  various  canals, 
— the  Louisville  and  Portland,  the  Delaware  and  Chesapeake,  the 
Potomac  and  Ohio,  and  the  Dismal  Swamp  canals ;  and  more 
recently  in  the  munificent  grant  of  bonds  and  lands  in  aid  of  the 
construction  of  the  Pacific  railroad; — a  measure  called  for  by  every 
consideration  of  national  unity,  internal  commerce,  and  military 
defense. 

NATIONALITY    OF    THIS    COMMERCE. 

The  commerce  which  floats  upon  a  river  like  the  Mississippi, 
draining  half  a  continent ;  or  upon  the  Great  Lakes,  whose  shore- 
lines are  longer  than  those  of  the  sea-board  States;  or  is  poured 
through  an  artificial  channel  like  the  New  York  canal,  is  as  much 
national  as  that  which  is  wafted  over  the  Atlantic.  When  it  is 
shown  that  eight-ninths  of  the  cereals  are  derived,  not  from  a 
single  State,  but  from  a  group  of  States ;  and  are  moving,  not  to  a 
local  market,  but  to  the  markets  of  the  world ;  furnishing  to  the 
navigating  interest  the  outward-bound  freight  as  well  as  the  return 
cargo,  and  conferring  a  direct  benefit  on  the  national  finances; 
and  when  the  proceeds  of  these  products  are  traced  through  all  the 
ramifications  of  trade,  it  is  evident  that  it  is  not  simply  the  citizen 
of  one  State,  but  the  Western  producer,  the  consumer  at  home  and 
abroad,  the  navigator,  the  importer,  the  consumer  of  foreign  fabrics, 
and  the  Government  itself,  all  have  a  direct  interest  in  the  result. 

It  is  a  measure  whose  benefits  are  not  to  be  circumscribed  by 
State  lines,  but  one  which  connects  three  distinct  systems  of  navi- 
gation, and  renders  them  available  for  external  and  internal  com- 
merce, for  national  unity,  and  military  defense. 

Every  one  is  aware  how  largely  the  topographical  features  of  a 
country  influence  its  inhabitants  in  their  social  habits,  their  modes 


95 

of  thought,  and  business  pursuits.     The  words  of  Cowper  contain 
a  fund  of  political  philosophy  : 

"  Lands  intersected  by  a  narrow  frith 
Abhor  each  other.     Mountains  interposed 
Make  enemies  of  nations,  who  had  else, 
Like  kindred  drops,  been  mingled  into  one." 

But  bridge  these  friths,  tunnel  these  mountains,  making  them 
the  great  highways  of  commerce,  and  you  unite  the  people  by  the 
ties  of  a  common  interest,  which  they  will  consent  to  sever  only 
under  the  most  pressing  necessity. 

HOW  TO    CONDUCT    A  LONG  WAR. 

The  expenses  of  the  Great  Rebellion,  reaching  not  less  than 
$500,000,000  a  year,  must  be  levied  on  our  national  resources.  It 
is  the  price  which  must  be  paid  for  the  preservation  of  our  national 
unity.  Taxes  are  assessed  upon  almost  every  article  that  contrib- 
utes to  the  wants,  or  the  conveniences  of  the  people  ;  but,  however 
multifarious  the  tax-schedule,  the  revenue  is  derived  from  two 
sources  alone  ; — the  wages  of  labor,  and  the  interest  of  capital. 
The  ability  of  the  people  to  sustain  taxation  depends  on  the  reward 
given  to  labor,  and  the  profitable  employment  of  capital.  The  fact, 
therefore,  that  the  national  resources  are  taxed  to  so  great  an 
extent,  for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  the  war,  so  far  from  being  an 
argument  against  appropriations  for  the  objects  of  internal  com- 
merce, is  the  strongest  reason  why  they  should  be  made.  The  war 
must  be  made  to  sustain  the  war. 

The  most  hopeful  feature  in  this  contest  is  the  general  prosper- 
ity of  the  North,  and  the  general  paralysis  of  the  South.  In  the 
one  section,  commerce  is  active,  labor  in  demand,  and  wages  are 
almost  unexampled ;  property  is  constantly  advancing  in  value,  im- 
migration has  not  fallen  off,  population  is  increasing,  while  the  opera- 
tives in  every  branch  of  industry — agriculture,  manufactures  and 
mining — are  unceasingly  occupied.  On  the  other  hand,  the  South 
exhibits  a  forlorn  aspect.  Over  wide  expanses  of  territory  desola- 
tion reigns  supreme.  With  the  mouth  of  the  great  mercantile  river, 
the  Mississippi,  in  the  possession  of  the  Government,  and  their 
principal  ports  blockaded,  they  are  thus  cut  off  from  the  markets 
of  the  world.  Their  cotton  plantations  have  almost  ceased  to  be 
cultivated  ;  and  while  the  demand  for  that  staple  abroad  is  unpre- 
cedented, at  home  it  is  almost  valueless.  A  famine  threatens  the 
land ;  and  tumultuous  crowds  of  women  parade  the  streets  of  their 


96 

capital  crying  aloud  for  bread.  Villages  are  depopulated,  refugees 
flock  to  the  lines  of  the  army  demanding  protection,  and  food 
commands  almost  fabulous  prices. 

From  the  example  of  Netherlands,  in  her  terrible  but  successful 
struggle  for  nationality,  the  North  can  derive  a  salutary  lesson. 
Although,  according  to  the  historian  Motley,  a  war  had  been  raging 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  without  any  interruption,  population  in- 
creased, property  rapidly  advanced  in  value,  and  labor  was  in  active 
demand.  Famine  was  impossible  to  a  State  which  commanded  the 
ocean.  No  corn  grew  in  Holland  and  Zeeland,  but  their  ports 
were  the  granary  of  the  world ;  and  in  one  month  eight-hundred 
vessels  left  their  havens  for  Eastern  ports  alone.  While  the  sea- 
ports rapidly  increased  in  importance,  the  interior  towns  advanced 
as  steadily.  The  woolen  manufacture,  the  tapestry,  the  embroi- 
deries [of  Gelderland,  and  Friesland,  and  Overyssel,  became  as 
famous  as  had  been  those  of  Tournay,  Ypres,  Brussels,  and  Valen- 
ciennes. The  emigration  from  other  countries  was  very  great ;  it 
was  difficult  to  obtain  lodgings  in  the  principal  cities ;  new  houses, 
new  streets,  new  towns,  rose  every  day  ;  and  when  the  English 
embassadors  arrived  in  the  Provinces,  they  were  singularly  im- 
pressed by  the  opulence  and  magnificence  which  surrounded  them. 
The  single  province  of  Holland  furnished  regularly  for  war  ex- 
penses alone,  2,000,000  florins  a  year,  besides  other  extraordinary 
grants,  which  seemed  only  to  make  it  more  elastic.  A  contempo- 
rary remarked  that  "  coming  generations  may  see  the  fortifications 
erected  at  that  epoch  in  the  cities,  the  costly  and  magnificent 
havens,  the  docks,  the  great  extension  of  the  cities ;  for  truly  the 
war  has  become  a  great  benediction  to  the  inhabitants" 

By  the  cultivation  of  such  arts, — domestic  industry  and  external 
commerce, — they  were  enabled  to  carry  on  a  war  for  eighty  years, 
and  bring  it  to  a  triumphant  issue. 

In  the  midst  of  a  desolating  war,  Louis  XIV  completed  the  canal 
at  Languedoc,  connecting  the  Mediterranean  with  the  Atlantic, 
which  reflected  more  glory  on  his  reign  than  all  his  military 
conquests. 

Napoleon,  while  combatting  with  all  Europe,  devised  and  execut- 
ed schemes  of  national  importance,  which  conferred  imperishable 
benefits  on  France,  and  which  went  far  to  efface  the  effects  of  the 
ravages  of  war. 


97 


COMMERCIAL  ASPECTS. 

There  is  no  measure  which  would  so  materially  benefit  our  exter- 
nal and  internal  commerce,  as  the  creation  of  a  ship-canal  between 
the  three  great  systems  of  navigation  in  North  America, — the  Mis- 
sissippi, the  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  Atlantic.  The  Illinois  valley, 
with  a  summit-level  of  only  eight  feet,  and  with  Lake  Michigan 
as  an  unfailing  reservoir,  affords  an  entirely  feasible  and  practicable 
route ;  and  besides,  what  is  a  remarkable  fact  in  the  physical  ge- 
ography of  the  region,  its  mouth  is  about  the  central  point  of  con- 
vergence of  the  three  great  basins  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  with 
a  drainage  area  of  1,244,000  square  miles, — the  heart  of  a  great 
continental  system,  of  which  the  navigable  and  unnavigable  rivers 
are  the  arteries  and  veins. 

Another  striking  geographical  fact  is  that,  taking  Memphis  and 
Liverpool  as  initial  points,  this  route  is  found  to  be  in  a  nearly 
direct  line  along  the  great  circle  of  the  earth  ;  and  is,  therefore,  the 
one  in  which  the  products  of  the  Great  Valley  would  naturally 
move  to  the  markets  of  the  world.  The  New  York  canal  is  con- 
structed through  a  natural  depression  of  the  Alleghanies,  the  most 
feasible  to  be  found  throughout  their  range  from  Canada  to  Alaba- 
ma. The  North-West  dates  its  prosperity  from  the  time  of  the 
construction  of  this  work,  and  its  enlargement  would  form  an  epoch 
in  a  new  career  of  prosperity,  compared  with  which,  the  past  would 
sink  into  insignificance. 

The  facts  which  have  been  collated  by  the  Committee  show  that 
the  products  of  the  North-West  feed  to  a  large  extent  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  sea-board  States,  and  at  the  same  time  furnish  the  bulk 
of  cargoes  to  our  commercial  marine ;  that,  exclusive  of  specie, 
they  constitute  in  value  about  70  per  cent,  of  all  of  our  domestic 
exports,  and  in  that  proportion,  contribute  to  the  customs-revenue, 
in  duty-paying  articles  for  which  they  are  exchanged  ;  that,  while 
under  the  existing  tariff,  almost  every  other  branch  of  industry  is 
protected  to  the  extent  of  30  per  cent.,  there  has  been  no  legisla- 
tion in  aid  of  bread-stuffs  and  provisions ;  that  the  connecting  of 
these  three  systems  of  navigation,  under  the  constitutional  power 
of  Congress,  by  a  ship-canal,  while  its  cost  would  not  exceed 
$17,000,000,  would  result  in  a  saving  of  $30,000,000  in  the  move- 
ment of  the  yearly  crops,  to  be  shared  alike  by  the  producer  and 
consumer;  that  its  practical  effect  would  be  to  bring  the  lands  on 
the  outer  verge  of  settlement  2,000  miles  nearer  the  sea-board  for 
7 


98 

all  the  purposes  of  market ;  that  products,  like  corn,  now  almost 
worthless  for  exportation,  would  be  in  active  demand  ;  that  under 
such  a  stimulus,  the  value  of  the  public  domain  would  be  greatly 
enhanced,  immigration  become  active,  settlement  extended,and  our 
foreign  commerce  be  swollen  to  an  unprecedented  extent;  and 
finally,  that  it  would  illustrate  the  great  historical  truth,  that  the 
only  method  of  carrying  on  a  protracted  war  is  to  increase  the 
productive  industry  of  the  nation. 


MILITARY  ASPECTS. 

Great  Britain  occupies  the  northern  portion  of  the  continent, 
with  a  territory  coterminous  with  our  own,  stretching  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  She  has  constructed  a  series  of  short 
canals  around  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  with  locks  45  feet 
wide  and  200  feet  long,  and  8  feet  deep ;  and  has  connected  lakes 
Erie  and  Ontario  by  the  Welland  canal,  with  locks  26  feet  wide, 
150  long,  and  11  feet  deep,  and  capable  of  ready  enlargement. 
She  has,  also,  constructed  the  Rideau  canal,  professedly  as  a 
military  work,  by  an  interior  route,  between  Montreal  and  Kings- 
ton, with  locks  33  feet  wide  and  142  long;  and  although  the 
channel  is  only  5i  feet  deep,  yet  it  is  capable  of  passing  a  danger- 
ous vessel,  when  buoyed  up  by  lighters. 

She  has  a  formidable  fortress  and  depot  of  military  and  naval 
stores  at  Kingston,  on  Lake  Ontario ;  another  at  Maiden,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Detroit  river;  and  a  third  at  Penetanguishene  on 
Georgian  Bay  ;  besides  forts  more  or  less  impregnable  at  Toronto, 
Niagara,  Port  Stanley,  Windsor,  and  Port  Sarnia.  Most  of  these 
points  are  intersected  by  railways,  by  which  a  large  force  can  be 
rapidly  concentrated. 

To  oppose  these  formidable  preparations,  we  have  a  few  dis- 
mantled forts,  which  a  half-hour's  cannonading  with  improved 
ordnance  would  batter  down,  and  which,  from  their  weakness, 
would  invite,  rather  than  deter  attack ;  no  lines  of  water-commu- 
nication by  which  a  war- vessel,  larger  than  a  canal-boat  can  be 
thrown  into  the  Lakes ;  no  naval  or  military  depots;  nothing  but  a 
single  steamer  of  100  tons  burden,  mounting  a  single  18-pounder 
for  aggressive  or  defensive  purposes ;  nor  can  the  number,  under 
the  treaty  stipulations  of  1817,  be  increased  beyond  one  more  on 
the  Upper  Lakes,  one  on  Lake  Ontario,  and  one  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain. 


99 

The  richly-laden  fleets,  bearing  the  commerce  of  half  the 
country  sea-ward,  and  the  populous  cities  and  towns  along  the 
borders  of  the  lakes,  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  invader.  Not  a  gun 
is  mounted  for  their  protection,  nor  is  there  a  harbor  of  refuge 
four  miles  inland. 

It  may  be  a  startling  fact,  but  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  a 
single  battery  planted  on  the  Virginian  side  of  the  Ohio  river  below 
Pittsburgh,  and  a  single  gun-boat  anchored  near  the  southern  shore 
of  Lake  Erie,  have  the  power  to  sever  the  great  arteries  of  com- 
munication between  the  East  and  the  West.  A  slight  interruption 
of  the  calm  regularity  in  the  flow  of  bread-stuffs  eastward,  would 
cause  a  consternation  as  great  as  any  disaster  to  our  arms.  We 
may  repose  in  fancied  security  ;  but  should  such  a  disaster  occur, 
succeeding  generations  would  not  fail  to  brand  as  imbecile,  the 
statesmen  of  this  day,  who  neglected  to  defend  the  nation  in  its 
most  vulnerable  point. 

POSSIBILITY    OF   A    BUPTURE. 

A  year  has  scarcely  elapsed  since  England,  in  contemplation  of 
the  possibility  of  a  rupture  with  the  United  States,  began  to  throw 
troops  and  munitions  of  war  into  the  principal  stragetic  points  ;  an 
extended  system  of  fortifications  was  projected,  the  local  militia 
was  enrolled  and  equipped — the  whole  placed  under  the  command 
of  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Crimean  war, — and  the  aristocratic 
organ  of  the  nation,  the  London  Times,  declared  that,  with  the 
opening  of  the  navigation  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  England  would 
throw  into  the  Lakes  such  a  fleet  of  gun-boats  as  would  give  her 
the  command  of  those  waters. 

It  will  be  recollected,  too,  that  Mr.  Seward,  as  Secretary  of 
State,  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Governors  of  the  States  bordering 
on  the  Lakes,  calling  upon  them,  in  the  interim  of  Congress,  to  take 
steps  to  fortify  the  principal  points  of  approach.  It  is  thus 
apparent,  that  both  governments  regarded  a  rupture  as  imminent, 
and  took  steps  to  prepare  for  it.  It  is  equally  evident,  that  both 
regarded  the  Lake-frontier  as  the  theatre  of  military  operations, 
and  commenced  a  concentration  of  the  materiel  of  war  at  the 
principal  stragetic  points. 

While  the  happening  of  such  an  event  is  greatly  to  be  deplored, 
still  it  must  be  confessed  that  there  are  yet  irritating  questions, 
which  may  require  to  be  settled  by  the  arbitrament  of  war.  The 
fitting  out  in  her  ports  of  vessels  to  prey  upon  our  commerce,  with 


100 

the  tacit  knowledge  and  assent  of  that  Government,  cannot  but  be 
regarded  by  us,  as  it  has  been  by  her,  a  violation  of  public  faith 
and  international  comity. 

As  if  in  anticipation  of  hostilities,  we  again  hear  of  a  large  force 
being  thrown  into  Canada,  and  of  the  shipment  of  military  and 
naval  stores. 

LAKE    DEFENSES. 

The  question  recurs,  what  would  be  the  cheapest  and  most 
effectual  method  of  defending  the  Lakes,  and  enabling  us  to  assert 
our  supremacy  over  them  in  case  of  war  ? 

The  introduction  of  iron-clad  vessels  has  effected  a  revolution 
in  naval  warfare,  and  no  maritime  nation  would  at  this  day  confine 
its  defenses  to  stationary  fortifications. 

The  existing  forts  on  the  American  side,  even  if  furnished  with 
the  most  approved  guns,  would  probably  prove  ineffectual  to  pre- 
vent the  passage  of  iron-clads ;  and  besides,  stationary  fortifications 
are  unfitted  for  aggressive  purposes. 

Of  the  lake-craft,  many  might  be  extemporized  into  war-vessels  ; 
but  the  bulk  of  them  when  covered  with  armor  and  laden  with 
stores,  would  be  incapable  of  entering  the  harbors. 

The  question  of  lake- defenses  was  referred  to  the  Naval  Com- 
mittee of  the  Thirty-Seventh  Congress,  who,  through  Mr.  F.  A. 
Conklin,  submitted  a  report  which  appears  to  have  been  written  in 
ignorance  of  the  great  hydrographical  features  of  the  Lakes,  and 
contains  recommendations  utterly  impracticable. 

With  harbors  along  the  Lakes  admitting  vessels  of  but  twelve- 
feet  draft,  a  fact  which  seems  to  have  been  overlooked  by  the  Com- 
mittee, they  gravely  state : 

"  Vessels  of  such  a  class  as  could  traverse  the  enlarged  canals,  would  be  unequal 
to  a  contest  with  the  Roanoke  of  our  own  navy,  and  still  more  with  the  La  Gloire 
of  the  French,  or  the  Azincourt  or  the  Minotaur  of  the  British  navy.  They  ought 
not  to  be  built  for  ocean  warfare,  nor  for  warfare  on  the  lakes,  unless  the  Govern- 
ment shall  be  constrained,  when  the  occasion  arises,  to  adopt  the  lock  of  a  canal 
aa  the  standard  of  a  man-of-war,  and  to  gauge  a  contest  with  England  accordingly." 

Such  a  recommendation  hardly  deserves  a  passing  comment, 
when  it  is  stated  that  a  vessel  of  the  draft  of  any  of  those  enumer- 
ated— twenty-five  feet  or  more — would  be  excluded  from  every 
lake-harbor,  and  would  be  incapable  of  passing  through  the  straits 
connecting  the  respective  lakes.  If  such  a  policy  were  adopted, 
each  lake  would  require  its  separate  fleet,  which  would  be  incapa- 
ble of  co-operation. 


101 

But,  it  has  been  said  that  the  defense  of  the  Lakes  is  to  be  made 
at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  This  plan  may  be  acceptable 
to  those  residing  on  the  sea-board,  and  who  have  no  immediate 
interest  in  the  result ;  but  to  those  occupying  the  cities  upon  the 
shores,  and  owning  the  commerce  which  floats  upon  the  waters,  of 
the  Great  Lakes,  this  plan  is  far  from  satisfactory  ;  they  will  hardly 
rest  secure  in  trusting  to  a  defense  to  be  made  at  a  distance  of 
two  thousand  miles.  The  burning  of  Buffalo  and  Black  Rock  has 
not  yet  faded  from  the  recollection  of  our  oldest  inhabitants.  They 
have  the  right,  by  reason  of  numbers  and  the  magnitude  of  the 
interests  involved,  to  require  such  an  armament  as  shall  enable  the 
Government,  at  once,  in  the  event  of  war,  to  assert  and  maintain  its 
supremacy  on  the  Lakes.  The  representatives  of  the  North-West 
in  Congress  have  at  all  times  cheerfully  voted  appropriations 
for  fortifications,  for  ships,  arsenals  and  naval  depots,  to  pro- 
tect Ocean  commerce;  and  now  they  have  a  right  to  demand, 
as  a  matter  of  justice  and  reciprocal  good  feeling,  that  appropria- 
tions shall  be  made  for  Lake  commerce, — a  commerce  wafted  on 
waters  whose  shore-lines  far  exceed  those  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
whose  value  far  exceeds  that  of  the  external  commerce  of  the 
country.  They  fail  to  perceive  why  one  is  sectional  and  the 
other  national, — why  one  shore,  laved  by  salt  water,  should  bristle 
with  masts  and  be  dotted  with  forts ;  and  the  other,  laved  by  fresh 
water,  should  be  left  defenseless.  The  West  has  reason  to  believe 
that,  when  this  question  is  presented,  in  all  of  its  proportions,  the 
East  will  return  a  cordial  and  emphatic  response. 

The  Congress,  up  to  July,  1861,  had  appropriated  for  defense 
against  external  aggression,  more  than  nineteen  and  one-half  mil- 
lions of  dollars  to  the  New  England  States ;  and  more  than  twenty- 
nine  and  one-half  millions  to  the  loyal  Middle  States ;  while  the 
amount  appropriated  to  the  Food-producing  States  reached  a  little 
more  than  six  millions.  In  the  first  session  of  the  Thirty- Seventh 
Congress,  1862,  the  appropriations  for  forts,  ships,  etc.,  reached  fifty 
millions,  not  one  million  of  which  was  given  to  the  North-West. 

For  the  defense  of  the  Lakes  is  required  an  iron-clad  fleet  to. 
co-operate  with  stationary  fortifications.  In  what  manner  shall 
they  be  introduced  ?  The  Naval  Committee,  with  Mr.  Conklin  as. 
their  exponent,  have  suggested  two  plans  : 

1.  By  constructing  a  navy-yard  on  the  borders  of  some  one  of 
the  inland  sheets  of  water  tributary  to  the  lakes. 

2.  By  constructing  vessels  in  parts,  and  transporting  them  to 
the  places  required  ready  to  be  set  up. 


102 

With  regard  to  the  first  proposition  it  may  be  stated,  that,  while 
the  Naval  Committee  admit  that  it  would  be  an  infringement  of 
the  treaty-stipulations  of  1817  to  construct  war-vessels  on  the  mar- 
gins of  the  Great  Lakes,  it  is  difficult  to  comprehend  by  what  process 
of  reasoning  it  becomes  no  infringement  to  construct  them  on  an 
inland  sheet  of  water,  directly  communicating  with  the  Lakes,  to 
be  sent  down  whenever  their  services  shall  be  required.  We  ap- 
prehend that  the  British  Minister  Resident  would  remonstrate  with 
the  Secretary  of  State,  long  before  the  first  keel  was  laid.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  enlarging  these  canals,  we  are  but  exercising  a  right 
which  has  been  freely  conceded  to  Great  Britain. 

With  regard  to  the  second  proposition,  it  may  be  stated  that,  to 
prepare  the  materials  for  constructing  two  distinct  fleets,  one  for 
the  Upper  Lakes  and  one  for  the  Lower,  to  be  put  up  whenever 
the  necessity  may  arise,  and  to  transport  them  to  these  waters  from 
parts  far  remote,  would  be  far  more  expensive  than  the  cost  of 
opening  these  lines  of  internal  communication ;  and  besides,  the 
usefulness  of  these  fleets  would  be  restricted  solely  to  these  waters. 

A  third  plan  has  been  proposed,  and  that  is  to  make  use  of  the 
enlarged  canals  to  transfer  our  iron-clads  from  one  system  of  navi- 
gation to  another,  and  thus  save  the  expense  of  maintaining  dis- 
tinct sets  of  fleets.  The  Naval  Committee,  through  Mr.  F.  A. 
Conklin,  maintain  that,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  enlarged  New  York 
canal,  it  is  impracticable.  We  deem  the  testimony  of  ERICSSON, 
the  conceptions  of  whose  inventive  skill  have  saved  us  from  national 
humiliation,  and  whose  fame  will  live  through  the  ages  with  un- 
dimmed  lustre,  of  far  more  importance  than  any  crudely-expressed 
opinions  of  this  Committee. 

"  AN  IMPREGNABLE  WAR- VESSEL  OF  25  FEET  WIDE,  AND  200  LONG, 
WITH  A  SHOT-PROOF  TURRET,  CARRYING  A  GUN  OF  15-INCH  CALIBRE, 
WITH  A  BALL  OF  450  POUNDS,  AND  CAPABLE  OF  DESTROYING  ANY  HOS- 
TILE VESSEL  THAT  CAN  BE  PUT  ON  THE  LAKES,  WILL  DRAW,  WITHOUT 
AMMUNITION,  COAL,  OR  STORES,  BUT  6  FEET  6  INCHES  OF  WATER ; 
AND  CONSEQUENTLY,  WILL  NEED  ONLY  A  CANAL  WIDE  AND  DEEP 
ENOUGH  TO  FLOAT  A  VESSEL  OF  THOSE  DIMENSIONS,  WITH  LOCKS  OF 
SUFFICIENT  SIZE  TO  PASS  IT." 

The  cost  of  these  enlarged  communications,  according  to  the 
estimates  of  engineers  of  the  highest  capacity  and  integrity,  will 
not  exceed  $17,000,000;  and  yet  the  Naval  Committee,  through 
Mr.  F.  A.  Conklin,  without  furnishing  the  country  with  one  iota  of 
proof  to  impeach  the  correctness  of  these  estimates,  gravely  assert 


103 

that  the  cost  will  exceed  $45,000,000.  With  a  like  facility  of  pen, 
these  estimates  might  have  been  swollen  to  $100,000,000,  if  there- 
by a  purpose  were  to  be  subserved. 

The  effects  of  this  rebellion  will  survive  for  a  generation ;  and  to 
insure  the  regular  administration  of  the  laws  over  a  portion  of  the 
country,  will  require  the  maintenance  of  a  force  sufficient  to  put 
down  every  display  of  insubordination.  It  will  be  necessary  for 
the  Government  to  control  all  of  the  great  lines  of  communication. 
For  this  purpose,  no  means  would  be  so  effectual  as  a  class  of  iron- 
clad gun-boats  drawing  from  6  feet  to  12  feet  of  water,  and  capable 
of  navigating  our  rivers  and  entering  our  harbors.  A  class  of  the 
draft  last  named,  by  the  aid  of  lighters,  could  pass  through  the  Illi- 
nois and  Michigan  canal,  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Lakes,  and 
vice  versa,  and  thus  be  made  available,  either  to  suppress  insurrec- 
tion, or  repel  invasion. 

It  may  be  said  that  fleets  adapted  to  river-navigation  are  not 
adapted  to  lake-navigation ;  to  this  it  may  be  replied  that  they  are 
well  adapted  to  the  defense  of  the  straits,  which  are  the  most  im- 
portant lines  to  be  guarded.  There  are,  according  to  the  state- 
ment of  Admiral  Porter,  not  less  than  60  vessels  in  the  United 
States  navy  capable  of  passing  the  proposed  locks  of  the  Illinois 
and  Michigan  canal,  and  others  are  building  of  like  capacity. 

Your  Committee,  therefore,  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  cheapest 
and  most  effectual  method  of  lake-defense  is,  not  by  the  establish- 
ment of  naval  depots,  or  the  building  of  fleets  on  these  waters, 
both  of  which  would  be  construed  as  a  violation  of  the  treaty- 
stipulations  of  1817 ;  nor  by  the  erection  of  an  extended  system  of 
land  fortifications ;  but  by  opening  such  a  line  of  internal  commu- 
nication that  gun-boats  may  readily  be  passed  from  one  system  of 
navigation  to  another,  and  be  made  available  for  defense,  alike  iu 
the  harbors  of  the  Atlantic,  on  the  Lakes,  and  on  the  navigable 
waters  of  the  Mississippi.  With  these  two  links  in  the  chain  of 
communication  completed,  a  vessel  could  be  passed,  by  an  internal 
route,  from  New  Orleans  to  Chicago,  Buffalo,  New  York,  Trenton, 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Annapolis,  Washington,  Norfolk,  Rich- 
mond, Newbern,  and  Beaufort,  making  a  distance  of  4,300  miles  ; 
besides  rendering  accessible  the  whole  navigable  system  of  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Lakes.  It  would,  therefore,  become  a  matter 
of  little  moment,  whether  a  vessel  were  built  at  Brooklyn,  Annap- 
olis, Washington,  or  Philadelphia ;  or  at  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  or 
St  Louis ;  the  mechanical  skill  of  every  section  of  the  country  could 


104 

be  called  into  requisition,  and  the  vessel  completed,  with,  little  in- 
convenience, be  transferred  to  the  most  distant  waters. 

WAYS    AND    MEANS    FOR    CONSTRUCTION. 

The  bill  introduced  into  the  last  Congress  proposed,  for  the 
construction  of  the  Illinois  communication,  the  appropriation  of 
the  bonds  of  the  Government  to  the  extent  of  about  thirteen  and 
one-half  millions  of  dollars,  redeemable  in  twenty  years,  and 
bearing  six  per  cent,  interest  per  annum,  with  the  pledge  of  the 
tolls  for  the  payment  of  accruing  interest,  and  the  ultimate  pay- 
ment of  principal,  of  which  the  traffic  would  afford  an  ample 
guaranty.  The  issue  of  these  bonds,  thus  secured,  would  subserve 
all  the  purposes  of  a  direct  appropriation,  and  would  command  the 
confidence  of  capitalists  at  a  time,  when  more  than  ever  before 
there  was  redundant  capital  seeking  investment.  It  would  not 
involve  the  necessity  of  raising  a  dollar  by  taxation. 

If  it  be  asked,  why  does  not  the  State  of  Illinois  execute  the 
work,  or  confide  its  execution  to  a  chartered  company ;  it  may  be 
said  in  reply,  that  the  State  cannot  enter  upon  the  work  without 
first  changing  her  organic  law,  to  accomplish  which  would  require 
two  or  three  years ;  and  while  she  is  agreed  on  the  policy  of  sur- 
rendering this  route  to  the  General  Government,  to  be  used  as  a 
national  highway,  it  is  doubtful  whether  a  like  unanimity  would 
prevail  with  regard  to  the  State  taking  such  action,  even  if  con- 
stitutional impediments  were  not  in  the  way.  As  to  the  second 
inquiry,  the  State,  through  her  Constitutional  Convention,  has  indi- 
cated her  policy,  in  no  event  to  surrender  this  work  to  a  chartered 
company. 

If  it  be  said  that,  however  meritorious  this  work,  the  Govern- 
ment is  not  in  a  condition  to  incur  fresh  obligations,  it  may  be 
replied  that  no  debt  is  formidable,  based  on  a  great  improvement, 
whose  revenues  are  ample  to  meet  the  accruing  interest,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  create  a  sinking-fund  for  the  ultimate  extinguishment 
of  the  principal.  The  railway  debt  of  the  United  States  exceeds 
eleven-hundred  millions  of  dollars;  and  yet  the  only  inquiry  of  the 
capitalist,  dealing  in  this  class  of  securities,  is,  what  will  be  the 
net  earnings  ?  The  consolidated  debt  of  Great  Britain  is  so  enor- 
mous that  it  will  never  be  paid  ;  yet,  based  as  it  is  on  the  opulence 
of  the  Empire,  it  is  regarded,  the  world  over,  as  the  emblem  of 
financial  stability. 

So  far  as  relates  to  the  New  York  portion  of  the  enterprise,  it 


105 
.  i 

may  be  stated  that  the  Legislature  of  that  State,  by  an  act  passed 
April  22,  1862,  authorized  the  enlargement  of  one  tier  of  locks  on 
the  Erie  and  Oswego  canals,  provided  the  expense  thereof  was 
paid  by  the  United  States  ;  in  consideration  whereof  the  last  named 
party  should  have  the  perpetual  right  of  passage  through  said 
canals,  "  free  from  toll,  or  charge,  for  its  vessels  of  war,  boats, 
gun-boats,  transports,  troops,  supplies,  or  munitions  of  war." 

In  conclusion,  your  Committee  would  state,  that  this  is  an  enter- 
prise which,  in  whatever  light  it  is  viewed,  ought  to  commend 
itself  to  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  country.  In  its  lowest 
sense,  as  a  mere  pecuniary  investment,  the  bonds  of  the  United 
States,  based  on  the  tolls  of  the  canal,  would  command  the  confi- 
dence of  capitalists.  As  a  commercial  scheme,  it  would  enhance 
the  value  of  the  public  lands,  and  communicate  a  stimulus  to 
agriculture,  which  would  be  felt  to  the  farthest  verge  of  cultivation. 
It  would  cheapen  the  price  of  our  daily  food,  and  swell  to  a  vast 
extent  our  foreign  commerce.  As  a  national  measure,  it  would 
establish,  between  the  East  and  the  West,  closer  commercial  and 
political  affiliations,  and  forge  a  chain  which  no  convulsion  could 
sever;  while  as  a  military  system,  it  would  prove  the  cheapest  mode 
of  fortifying  a  long  line  of  frontier,  and  of  controlling  an  immense 
inland  navigation.  In  no  other  way,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Com- 
mittee, can  Congress  so  effectually,  in  the  language  of  the  Con- 
stitution, "  PROVIDE  FOK  THE  COMMON  DEFENSE,"  Or  "  PROMOTE 
THE  GENERAL  WELFARE." 

J.  W.  FOSTER, 

CHAIRMAN. 

GEO.  F.  RUMSEY, 
CHARLES  WALKER, 
WM.  McKINDLEY, 
R.  McCHESNEY, 
WM.  BROSS, 
JOHN  B.  PRESTON, 

Committee. 


106 


[B.] 

REPORT  OF  MESSRS.  GOODING  AND  PRESTON, 

As  TO  THE  PLAN  AND  COST  OF  THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  AND  MICHIGAN 
CANAL,  AND  THE  ILLINOIS  RIVER. 


CANAL  OFFICE,  ) 

LOCKPORT,  ILLINOIS,  May  30,  1863.  j 

To  the  Committee  on  Statistics  for  the  City  of  Chicago  : 
GENTLEMEN  : 

In  presenting  our  estimate  of  the  cost  of  enlarging  such  portions 
of  the  present  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  as  it  is  proposed  to  oc- 
cupy, and  the  improvement  of  the  Des-Plaines  and  Illinois  rivers, 
we  shall  say  nothing  in  regard  to  the  advantages  to  result  from  the 
proposed  work.  These  have  been  so  clearly  demonstrated  by 
others  much  more  able  than  ourselves,  that  none  except  those  who 
are  unwilling  to  believe,  can  have  any  doubt  upon  the  subject. 
But  of  the  feasibility  of  its  construction  and  its  probable  cost, 
many  well-disposed  persons  still  have  their  doubts,  and  we  will, 
therefore,  briefly  state  a  few  facts  in  relation  to  the  character  of 
the  work,  and  our  estimate  of  its  cost. 

In  1836,  the  Legislature  of  this  State  authorized  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  "  to  be  supplied  with 
water  from  Lake  Michigan  and  other  sources,"  and  one  of  us  was 
appointed  Chief  Engineer  of  the  work,  and  acted  in  that  capacity 
under  the  Canal  Commissioners  and  Canal  Trustees,  until  its  com- 
pletion in  1848.  The  other  as  Assistant  and  Resident  Engineer 
was  actively  engaged  upon  the  work,  most  of  the  time  from 
1837  until  its  completion.  We  mention  these  facts  to  show  that 
we  have  at  least  had  sufficient  opportunities  to  form  correct 
opinions  of  the  probable  cost  of  the  contemplated  improvement, 
when  the  present  canal  is  to  occupy  a  part  of  it. 

From  the  Chicago  river  to  the  lower  dam  at  Joliet,  a  distance  of 
33i  miles,  it  is  proposed  to  enlarge  the  present  canal  to  160  feet 
in  width  at  the  surface,  and  deepen  it  upon  the  Summit  to  the  origi- 
nal level  adopted  by  the  Canal  Commissioners  in  1836,  and  upon 
which  a  large  amount  of  work  was  executed.  This,  with  a  slight 
additional  amount  of  excavation  in  the  bottom  for  the  first  ten 
miles  out  of  Chicago,  will  enable  boats  of  full  six-feet  draft  to 
navigate  the  canal  at  the  minimum  stage  of  Lake  Michigan,  from 
which  the  supply  of  water  will  be  directly  drawn. 

The  excavations  on  the  old  canal  to  the  requisite  depth  for  the 
enlarged  one,  have  enabled  us  to  understand,  perfectly,  the  charac- 
ter of  the  material  to  be  excavated  to  form  the  proposed  enlarge- 
ment. The  cost  of  executing  the  various  kinds  of  work  done  for 
a  long  series  of  years,  and  under  varying  circumstances,  we  regard 


107 

as  a  very  valuable  guide  in  fixing  the  present  prices.  In  fact, 
such  valuable  data  are  seldom  or  never  attainable  in  estimating  a 
new  work,  and  we  have  the  fullest  confidence  that  our  prices  are 
ample,  and  will  afford  a  fair  margin  for  profits,  provided,  that  the 
average  wages  of  common  laborers  shall  not  exceed  one  dollar 
per  day,  the  cost  of  supplies  what  they  have  usually  been  in 
prosperous  times,  and  that  full  three  years  time  be  given  for  the 
completion  of  the  whole  work. 

The  canal  from  Chicago  to  Joliet,  for  which  distance  the  present 
canal  will  form  a  part  of  the  enlarged  one,  will  be  much  the  most 
expensive  part  of  the  proposed  improvement,  embracing,  as  it 
does,  the  whole  of  the  Summit  division. 

Below  Joliet,  the  present  canal,  except  for  some  five  or  six  miles 
between  Marseilles  and  Ottawa,  would  be  abandoned,  and  the 
Des-Plaines  and  Illinois  rivers  improved  for  navigation  by  locks 
and  dams. 

When  we  furnished  the  estimate  to  Gen.  Webster,  which  he 
indorsed  and  presented  in  his  report  to  the  War  Department,  no 
survey  had  been  made  of  this  part  of  the  line.  We  had,  however, 
been  well  acquainted  with  the  Des-Plaines  and  Illinois  rivers  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  knew  the  amount  of  lockage,  and  where  the 
materials  must  be  obtained  to  construct  the  dams  and  locks,  etc., 
etc.,  and  ventured  to  make  an  approximate  estimate.  Many  per- 
sons opposed  to  the  improvement  attacked  our  estimate,  and  we 
were  compelled  to  admit  that  it  had  been  made  without  any  very 
precise  data.  Since  then,  a  survey  has  been  made  under  our 
supervision  by  A.  J.  Mathewson,  Esq.,  an  experienced  engineer, 
whose  map  and  profile  of  the  route  from  Chicago  to  La  Salle,  we 
submit  herewith.  We  are  now  able  to  present  an  estimate  of  all 
parts  of  the  route  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi  river, 
which  we  trust  will  be  satisfactory  to  the  friends  of  the  proposed 
improvement.  Its  enemies  will  not,  probably,  be  satisfied  with 
the  facts  in  the  case,  for  they  prove  incontestably  that  no  improve- 
ment of  anything  like  equal  importance,  was  ever  executed  for 
three  times  the  amount  which  this  would  cost. 

For  the  first  8£  miles  from  the  Chicago  river,  the  material  to  be 
excavated  is  a  compact  clay,  all  of  which  can  be  easily  excavated 
by  machinery.  This  has  been  estimated  at  25  cents  per  cubic 
yard. 

For  the  next  10^  miles,  the  excavation  will  be  of  a  much  more 
difficult  character,  though  still  mostly  earth,  but  a  considerable 
proportion  of  it  cemented  clay,  intermixed  with  small  stone  or 
gravel.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  the  greater  'part  of  it  may 
be  executed  by  machinery,  though  with  less  facility  than  the  first 
8£  miles.  On  a  few  of  the  sections  embedded  rock  was  found  in 
the  old  excavations.  This  part  of  the  work  is  estimated  at  50 
cents  per  cubic  yard,  including  all  the  various  kinds  of  material. 

From  the  Sag,  where  the  heavy  rock-excavation  commences,  to 
Lockport,  a  distance  of  10^  miles,  the  excavation,  except  a  slight 
covering  of  earth  averaging  about  two  feet  in  depth,  consists 


108 

entirely  of  stratified  limestone.     For  some  eight  miles  of  this  dis- 
tance the  depth  of  rock  varies  from  12  to  16  feet. 

All  of  the  excavation,  on  this  part  of  the  line,  was  completed  on 
the  original  plan  of  the  "  deep  cut, "  except  about  260,000  cubic 
yards, — so  that  it  only  requires  this  amount  to  be  excavated  to 
make  a  perfect  drainage  to  the  bottom  of  the  enlarged  canal,  and 
give  a  face  the  full  depth  of  the  excavation  for  the  entire  distance. 
Considering  the  character  of  the  rock  and  the  favorable  circum- 
stances for  executing  the  work,  (permitting  the  use  of  machinery 
propelled  by  steam  for  drilling  and  removing  it,)  we  have  deemed 
90  cents  per  cubic  yard  a  liberal  price,  and  have  estimated  it  at 
that  price. 

We  mention,  particularly,  the  character  of  the  material  to  be 
excavated  on  this  part  of  the  work,  and  the  prices  at  which  we 
have  estimated  it,  because  its  cost  will  be  more  than  half  of 
the  entire  improvement.  But  this  cut  through  the  Summit,  though 
expensive,  accomplishes  a  very  important  object.  It  diverts  the 
waters  of  Lake  Michigan  into  the  valley  of  the  Des-Plaines  at 
Lockport,  through  a  canal  160  feet  wide  at  surface,  and  not  less 
than  7|  feet  deep  in  an  ordinary  stage  of  the  Lake.  A  declivity 
of  one  inch  per  mile  at  the  very  lowest  stage  of  Lake  Michigan, 
has  been  given  on  this  29  miles  of  canal,  in  the  estimates. 

From  Lockport,  where  the  lake  level  runs  out  to  the  lower  dam 
on  the  present  canal  at  Joliet,  the  distance  is  4^  miles,  and  the 
lockage  50  feet. 

The  whole  amount  of  lockage  from  the  point  where  we  leave 
the  present  canal  at  Joliet  to  La  Salle,  is  88  feet,  and  from  thence 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river,  3'2  feet, — making  the  aggregate 
lockage  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi,  170  feet.  The 
whole  distance  is  320  miles. 

To  overcome  this  difference  of  level  we  have  estimated  in  all 
above  La  Salle,  14  lift  locks, — the  lifts  varying  from  8  to  12  feet 
each.  But  one  guard-lock  is  required. 

All  but  three  of  the  nine  locks  below  Joliet  will  be  built  upon 
short  sections  of  canal,  and  entirely  secure  from  river-floods. 

Only  five  dams  have  been  found  necessary  between  Joliet  and 
La  Salle;  two  of  them  on  the  Des-Plaines  river,  and  three  on  the 
Illinois.  The  two  on  the  Des-Plaines  have  been  estimated  entirely 
of  stone,  and  the  three  on  the  Illinois  of  crib-work,  resting  on 
timber  foundations  with  stone  abutments, — being  of  the  same 
character  in  all  respects  as  those  which  were  estimated  for  the 
Illinois  river  improvement  below  La  Salle. 

Upon  a  re-examination  of  our  estimate  for  the  improvement  of 
the  river  below  La  Salle,  which  we  submitted  to  Gen.  Webster,  we 
conclude  to  make  no  change  in  the  figures,  as  we  deem  them  as 
near  right  as  we  could  make  them  by  revision  now. 

We  have  estimated  the  whole  work  to  be  constructed  in  the 
most  substantial  and  permanent  manner,  but  have  added  nothing 
for  show.  All  the  stone  masonry,  therefore,  in  locks,  dams,  bridges, 
etc.,  has  been  estimated  of  "  rock-work,  "  with  a  face  sufficiently 


109 

smooth  for  practical  purposes,  but  little  of  it,  except  coping,  finely 
cut.  The  stone  in  the  quarries  along  the  line  is  peculiarly  fitted 
for  this  character  of  work,  being  regularly  stratified,  the  strata 
being  of  various  and  suitable  thicknesses,  and  the  beds  parallel  and 
generally  so  smooth  as  to  require  but  little  dressing.  All  is  to  be 
laid  in  the  best  cement  of  water-lime  and  sand. 

The  improvement  which  we  have  estimated  is  not  a  "ship-canal," 
as  it  has  generally  been  termed,  it  not  being  adapted  to  the  naviga- 
tion of  ships,  but  the  largest  class  of  Mississippi  steamboats  which 
can  ascend  the  river  in  ordinary  low  water  to  St.  Louis.  The 
canal,  therefore,  where  the  improvement  consists  of  canal,  is  esti- 
mated throughout  at  not  less  than  160  feet  wide  at  top  water-line  ; 
and,  where  the  canal  is  not  made  in  rock-excavation,  vertical  walls 
upon  each  side,  10  feet  in  height,  have  been  estimated. 

The  locks  are  estimated  350  feet  long  by  75  feet  wide  in  the 
chamber,  and  would  be  sufficiently  large  to  pass  12  of  our  ordinary 
canal-boats,  carrying  2,000  tons  of  freight ;  or  a  gun-boat,  200  feet 
long  by  40  feet  wide,  and  drawing  ordinarily  10  feet  of  water, 
could,  by  the  aid  of  properly  constructed  lighters  or  barges,  be 
buoyed  up,  so  as  to  draw  less  than  six  feet,  and  thus  be  passed 
through  from  one  end  of  the  improvement  to  the  other  without  the 
slightest  difficulty. 

The  total  cost,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  annexed  estimate,  we  have 
set  down  at  the  sum  of  $13,446.625,  which  amount  varies  but  little 
from  the  estimate  made  by  us  last  fall,  before  we  were  in  posses- 
sion of  the  data  furnished  by  Mr.  Mathewson's  recent  survey. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

WM.  GOODING. 
J.  B.  PRESTON. 


ESTIMATED  COST  of  enlarging  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal, 
from  Chicago  to  the  Des-Plaines  river  at  Jbliet,  and  improve- 
ment of  the  Des-Plaines  and  Illinois  rivers  to  the  Mississippi 
— 320  miles  in  all. 

CHICAGO  TO  LOCKPORT  —  SUMMIT  LINK,  29  MILKS. 

4,502,110  Cub.  yds.  earth  excavation  (to  Summit),        @      .25  $1,125,627.50 

.60  2,965,806.00 

.90  2,269.070.10 

.15  71,165.80 

.15  78,172.80 

$2.50  790,000.00 


5,931,612  "       and  C.  clay,  etc.  (to  Sag.), 

2,521,189  rock  excavation  (to  Lockport), 

474,439  earth        "          and  spoil  bank, 

612,152  rock  in  " 

316,000  vertical  protection  wall, 


$7,299,742.20 


110 


LOCKPORT  TO  DAM  No    2,  IN  JOLIET,  4-J-  MILES. 

187,360  Cub.  yds.  earth  excavation,                                @       .20  $37,472.00 

198,619         "         rock  excavation,                                  "  $1.00  198,619.00 

150,213         "         embk'trockandwalltoberemov'd,  "        .20  30,042.60 

66,195         "         vertical  protection  wall,                     "     2.00  132,390.00 

3,000         "         lining  for  banks,                                  "     1.00  3,000.00 

5  locks,  350  ft.  long,  75  ft.  wide,  10  ft.  lift  each,  474,800.00 

$876,323.60 

DAM  No.  2,  JaLiET  TO  LAKE  JOLIET,  IN  DES-PLAINES  RIVER,  3-J-  MILES. 

25,925  Cub.  yds.  rock  excavation,  @  $1.00  $25,925.00 

10,500         "         mortared  wall  in  embankment,  "     3.00  31,500.00 

189,201         "         embankment  east  side  of  river,  "        .30  56,760.30 

191,250         "                   "            through  fields,  "       .20  38,250.00 

19,800         "         protection  wall,  "$2.50  49,500.00 

1  stone  dam,  350  ft.  long,  15  ft.  high,  17,050.00 

3  locks,  350  It.  long,  75  ft.  wide,  8  ft.  lift  each,  281,100.00 

$500,085.30 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  DES-PLAINES  AND  ILLINOIS  RIVERS  FROM  LAKE  JOLIET  TO 
LA  SALLE,  59  MILES. 

59,259  Cub.  yds.  rock  excavation  at  Treat's  Island, 

620,000  earth         " 

395,917  "     and  C.  clay, 

91,584  rock  excavation, 

250,000  embankment, 

800,000  earth  excavation  and  embankment, 

108,186|  protection  wall, 

33,000  slope  wall, 

1  dam  in  Des-Plaines  river, 

3  dams  in  Illinois  river, 

2  locks,  8  (t.  lift  each,  350  ft.  long,  75  ft.  wide, 
1  guard  lock,  "  " 

4  locks,  12  ft.  lift  each,     "  " 


@ 

$1.00 

$59,259.00 

.1 

.25 

155,000.00 

u 

.30 

178,775.10 

u 

.75 

68,688.00 

It 

.25 

50,000.00 

!< 

.30 

240,000.00 

U 

3.00 

324,560.00 

<( 

2.00 

66,000.00 

24,190.00 

205,660.00 

'» 

213,700.00 

93,700.00 

519,400.00 

LA  SALLE  TO  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER,  220  MILES. 

7  tree  or  timber  and  crib  dams,  with  stone  abutments, 
7  stone  locks,  350  ft.  long,  75  ft.  wide,  32  ft.  lockage, 


$2,198,932.10 


$516,040.00 
1,128,295.00 

$1,644,335.00 


RECAPITULATION. 

Chicago  to  Bridgeport,  South  Branch,  4  miles. 

Bridgeport  to  Lockpoit,  Summit  line,  29     "  $7,299,742.20 

Lockport  to  d^m  No.  2,  Joliet,  50  ft.  lockage,  4-J  "  876,323.60 

Dam  No.  2  to  Lake  Joliet,          24"         "  3$  "  500,085.30 

Lake  Joliet  to  La  Sdlle,               64"         "  59     "  2,198,932.10 

La  Salle  to  Mississippi  river,     32  "         "  220     "  1,644,335.00 

Add  for  bridges,  2  culverts,  and  land  damages,  325,000.00 

"       engineering  and  contingencies,  602,207.10 


TOTALS, 


170  ft.  lockage, 


320  miles,     $13,446,625.30 


Ill 


[C.] 

NIAGARA    SHIP-CANAL. 

This  is  a  project  which  has  been  discussed  for  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century ;  and  has  recently  received  especial  prominence 
as  an  additional  Eastern  outlet  for  the  accumulating  products  of 
the  Mississippi  valley. 

In  1835,  Capt.  W.  G.  Williams,  under  the  orders  of  the  Chief 
of  the  Topographical  Bureau  of  the  United  States,  made  a  sur- 
vey of  the  proposed  route,  of  which  the  following  is  an  abstract : 

The  project  contemplated  a  ship-canal  of  such  dimensions  as  to 
render  the  work  a  means  of  transportation  for  the  larger  class  of 
steam-boats  and  sailing  vessels  navigating  the  lakes ;  with  locks 
200  feet  in  length,  50  feet  in  breadth,  with  a  width  of  canal  of 
110  feet  at  the  surface,  and  a  water-depth  of  10  feet : — the  locks 
to  have  a  lift  varying  with  circumstances,  and  generally  not  to 
exceed  10  feet,  and  the  water  to  supply  them  to  be  drawn  from  the 
Niagara  river. 

PROPOSED    ROUTES. 

No.  1.  Commences  at  Porter's  Store-house  near  old  Fort 
Schlosser,  thence  crosses  Gill  creek  at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile 
above  its  mouth,  and  is  thence  protracted  in  a  nearly  straight  line 
to  the  head  of  Bloody  run.  The  ground  over  which  it  passes, 
aiter  the  first  mile,  is  generally  swampy,  although  somewhat  ele- 
vated, and  for  the  first  four  miles,  as  determined  by  careful  borings, 
no  rock  worthy  of  mention  occurs,  except  a  small  portion  at  Gill 
creek;  the  soil,  however,  is  by  no  means  easy  of  excavation,  being 
of  a  tenacious  character;  and  the  ground  is  swampy,  and  covered 
with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber.  "From  this  point,"  quoting  from 
the  Report,  "  the  valley  of  Bloody  run  is  pursued  to  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  point,  where  the  run  falls  over  the  precipice  into 
the  Niagara  river,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  chasm  known  as 
the  Devil's  hole,  three  and  a  half  miles  below  the  Great  Falls. 

"  The  levels  now  pass  over  unequal  ground,  but  slightly  elevated, 
however,  until  they  reach  the  brow  of  the  Lewiston  ridge.  This 
portion  of  the  line  was  run  very  near  the  precipitous  brink  of  the 
Niagara  river,  and  only  involves  a  prism  of  rock  cutting  of  incon- 
siderable depth. 

"Until  we  arrive  at  Fort  Grey,  no  obstacle  of  importance  inter- 
venes ;  indeed,  none  but  the  most  commonplace  circumstances  of 
canal  construction  present  themselves.  It  is  from  this  point  to  the 
debouch  of  the  project  into  the  Niagara  river,  that  difficulties  of  a 
serious  character  may  be  apprehended. 

"  From  the  brow  of  the  ridare  the  lines  of  level  were  carried 


112 

obliquely  to  the  line  of  greatest  acclivity  of  the  ascent,  falling  in 
such  proportion  to  the  measured  horizontal  distance,  as  to  render 
them  conformable  to  the  projected  dimensions  of  the  locks  and 
basins,  with  the  required  lift  for  each  lock.  These  data  furnish 
the  means  of  projecting  a  flight  of  double  consecutive  locks  to  the 
foot  of  the  ridge,  or  a  line  of  single  locks,  with  intermediate  basins, 
involving  in  either  case  a  descent  of  319^-  feet  from  the  bottom  of 
the  canal  at  Fort  Grey,  to  the  corresponding  surface  at  its  intersec- 
tion, ten  feet  below  the  surface  in  Niagara  river. 

"  As  the  slope  of  the  mountain  may  in  a  general  view  be  regarded 
as  uniform,  and  under  an  angle  too  great  to  admit  of  the  location 
of  the  locks  on  a  line  approximating  to  that  of  greatest  acclivity, 
it  would  be  necessary,  by  means  of  excavation  and  embankment, 
to  prepare  a  berm  for  their  reception. 

"  Our  supposition  involves  a  heavy  mass  of  side  cutting,  so  as  to 
establish  the  exterior  walls  of  the  locks  upon  a  well  consolidated 
foundation :  by  this  means  the  whole  section  of  the  locks  and 
basins  would  possess  a  homogeneous  basis,  and  have  their  stability 
insured. 

"  This  excavation  comprehends  the  space  to  be  occupied  by  the 
sustaining  and  interior  walls,  and  in  case  the  double  locks  should 
have  their  similar  surfaces  in  the  same  horizontal  plane,  the  breadth 
of  their  dividing  walls  would  be  comprised  in  the  section.  *  *  * 

"As  the  line  of  levels  descends  to  the  foot  of  the  ridge,  it  gradu- 
ally winds  round  until  its  horizontal  projection  becomes  nearly 
parallel  to  its  location  at  the  beginning  of  the  descent. 

"  In  order  to  obtain  the  direction  which  leads  it  to  the  most  favor- 
able point  of  debouch  on  the  Niagara  river,  for  the  present  modi- 
fication of  our  project,  I  have  planned  a  basin  allowing  sufficient 
room  for  the  largest  vessels  admissible  to  the  locks,  to  turn  and 
assume  its  change  of  c/>urse.  At  this  point,  the  flight  of  locks 
would  terminate  in  an  extensive  artificial  harbor,  comprising  an 
area  of  about  114  acres,  and  elevated  120  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  Niagara  river.  It  will  be  formed  between  the  ridge  on  which 
the  principal  street  of  Lewiston  is  situated  and  the  main  ridge, 
possessing  a  mean  depth  of  fourteen  feet.  The  embankment  neces- 
sary to  back  the  water  would  be  very  inconsiderable. 

"  It  is  an  element  forming  a  very  important  feature  in  our  project, 
and  would  have  the  advantage  of  serving  as  a  part  of  the  canal, 
obviate  a  mass  of  expensive  construction,  and  at  the  same  time 
afford  very  essential  accommodation  to  trade ;  indeed,  a  basin  of 
this  kind  would  be  almost  necessary  by  reference  to  the  very  con- 
tracted space  which  can  be  made  available  for  the  purpose  of  com- 
mercial transactions  in  the  vicinity  of  the  debouch,  in  connection 
with  the  precipitous  banks  of  the  river,  and  the  violence  of  the 
current;  moreover,  the  prism  of  water  drawn  from  this  reservoir 
to  supply  the  descent  of  the  locks  to  the  termination  of  the  project, 
would  be  scarcely  perceptible.  This  would  render  the  descent 
from  the  harbor  to  the  outlet,  independent  for  its  immediate  exi- 
gences, of  the  supply  of  water,  to  be  drawn  through  the  upper 
flight  of  locks  from  the  summit  level  of  the  project." 


113 

Elaborate  estimates  are  given  as  to  the  cost  of  construction  on 
this  plan,  with  the  following  results : 

Total  amount  of  Lockage $2,852,208.58 

Cost  of  Canal 758,387  63 


Total $3,610,596.21 

Total  length,  7  miles,  4,040  feet. 

No.  2.  "The  projected  plan,  line  No.  1,  approaches  in-  a  great 
portion  of  its  development  to  the  frontier  of  Upper  Canada,  and  it  is 
in  this  part  clearly  within  the  range  of  howitzer  and  mortar  batteries, 
planted  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Niagara  river,  and  likewise 
entirely  under  the  influence  of  their  power  of  annoyance  at  its  out- 
let. And  this  circumstance  has  been  alleged  against  the  expedi- 
ency of  any  location  terminating  at  Lewiston.  In  order  to  remove 
any  objection  which  indeed  is  valid,  by  reference  to  the  military 
advantages  that  are  ascribed  to  the  undertaking,  a  route  was 
examined  by  which  the  inconveniences  referred  to  might  be 
avoided. 

"  A  line  of  levels  was  accordingly  carried  up  the  valley  of  Gill 
creek,  to  a  depression  which  occurs  in  the  Lewiston  ridge  at  the 
head  of  Fish  creek,  and  thence  descending  the  ridge,  following 
the  valley  of  Four-mile  creek,  to  its  termination  on  Lake  Ontario, 
and  conforming  in  general  direction  to  a  right  line  between  its 
two  extremities. 

"  This  route  fulfills  the  condition  required.  It  is  throughout  its 
development  entirely  without  the  range  of  annoyance  from  the 
opposite  shore  of  Niagara  river,  and  terminates  on  the  lake  in  deep 
water. 

"  It  must  be  remarked,  in  regard  to  this  location,  that  it  exacts 
very  deep  cutting  in  rock  for  a  distance  of  3^  miles,  but  that  in 
other  respects  the  difficulties  to  be  surmounted  are  less  than  upon 
any  other  route,  and  particularly  in  that  part  which  relates  to  the 
descent  of  the  ridge.  The  idea  also  of  the  expense  in  excavation, 
should  be  neutralized  by  the  reflection,  that  the  rock  taken  out 
would  be  of  essential  value  for  the  construction  of  the  harbor, 
locks,  walls,  etc. 

"  It  is  probable  that  the  whole  amount  of  stone  taken  from  the 
deep  cut  would  be  required  for  these  and  a  variety  of  contingent 
purposes,  but  more  particularly  for  the  construction  of  a  capacious 
and  efficient  harbor  at  the  debouch  of  the  project. 

"  For  sw;h  object,  the  stone  would  be  required  from  some  point 
or  other,  and  from  none  could  it  be  procured  at  so  cheap  a  rate  as 
from  the  excavation  in  question. 

"The  harbor  would  be  the  last  object  of  completion,  and  the 
stone  conveniently  d  ^posited  on  the  side  of  the  deep  cut,  would 
be  brought  down  by  the  boats  through  the  canal.  By  means  of 
this  abundant  supply  of  materials,  the  wharves  might  be  carried 
out  to  a  depth  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet  at  little  expense,  so  as  to 
avoid  inconvenience  from  alluvial  deposits." 


114 

The  cost  of  construction  of  this  line,  including  an  artificial  har- 
bor at  the  mouth  of  Four-mile  creek,  with  a  circuit  of  one  mile, 
with  piers  from  7  to  10  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  30 
feet  cross  section,  would  be  $4,616,423.47. 

Total  length,  14  miles,  5,000  feet. 

There  are  several  modifications  of  the  above  routes,  in  the  sur- 
veys, but  it  may  be  said  that  route  No.  1,  if  constructed  for  purely 
commercial  purposes,  is  the  shortest  and  least  expensive ;  but 
when  the  question  becomes  one  of  military  defense,  it  is  apparent 
that  route  No.  2,  is  the  one  which  ought  to  be  adopted,  as  afford- 
ing security  from  assault,  and.  incalculable  aids  to  the  national 
defense. 

The  dimensions  of  the  work,  however,  are  too  contracted,  in  view 
of  the  number  and  the  class  of  vessels  navigating  the  Lakes.  The 
locks  ought  to  be  350  feet  long,  70  feet  wide  and  12  feet  deep; 
while  the  bottom  of  the  canal  ought  to  be  160  feet  wide;  or  100 
feet  with  recesses  of  160  feet  in  width,  at  each  mile,  to  admit  the 
passage  of  vessels. 

The  lower  portion  of  this  route  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  defensible  positions  on  the  frontier,  inaccessible  by  means  of 
the  rushing  waters  and  the  precipitous  banks  of  the  Niagara  river ; 
but  above  Schlosser,  the  river-channel  is  in  part  on  the  Canadian 
side,  and,  therefore,  Capt.  Williams  proposed  to  pass  the  rapids  at 
Black  Rock,  by  a  short  cut  and  a  few  feet  of  lockage  on  the 
American  side.  Another  suggestion  of  his  was,  to  let  the  canal 
commence  at  Buffalo,  and  carry  the  level  of  the  lake  along  the 
margin  of  the  Niagara  river,  as  tar  retired  as  possible  to  the  mouth 
of  Gill  creek,  then  up  the  valley  of  this  stream  to  the  head  of  Fish 
creek,  as  per  route  2,  and  thence  descend  to  Lake  Ontario.  This 
modification,  while  adding  to  the  expense,  would  give  additional 
security,  and  at  the  same  time  save  a  very  considerable  prism  of 
rock-excavation,  proportionate  to  the  elevation  of  Lake  Erie  above 
the  Niagara  river  at  the  point  of  beginning,  near  Porter's  Store- 
house. 

The  construction  of  this  work,  while  it  would  be  the  grandest 
monument  of  engineering  skill  on  the  continent,  at  the  same  time 
would  vastly  contribute  to  the  military  defense  and  commercial 
facilities  of  the  country.  (Rep.  of  Capt.  W.  G.  Williams,  U.  S. 
-Top.  Eng.,  Doc.  214,  Ho.  of  Reps.)  242A  Cong.,  1st  Session.) 


115 


[D.] 


RAPIDS   OF  THE   UPPER   MISSISSIPPI. 


Serious  impediments  exist  in  the  navigation  of  this  river,  in  con- 
sequence of  two  rapids,  known  as  the  Upper,  or  Rock  Island,  and 
theLower,  or  Des-Moines,  Rapids.  The  foot  of  the  Lower  Rapids 
commences  about  one-half  mile  above  Keokuk,  Iowa,  from  which 
they  extend  ten  and  one-half  miles,  and  are  occasioned  by  four 
reefs  of  limestone,  stratified  and  nearly  horizontal  in  position, 
which  are  known  as  the  Lower,  English,  La  Malle's,  and  Upper 
chains.  The  first  three  are  nearly  contiguous,  while  the  last  is  2£ 
miles  distant,  the  interval  being  comparatively  unobstructed. 

The  fall  from  the  head  to  the  foot  of  the  obstructions,  at  low 
water,  is  21  feet;  the  slope,  however,  is  not  uniform,  —  the  maxi- 
mum being  6  feet  per  mile,  while  the  minimum  is  only  about  T20 
per  mile. 

The  minimum  range  of  the  water-surface  at  the  head  of  the 
rapids,  is  llf  feet,  and  at  the  foot  21  feet.  Hence,  the  high-water 
fall  is  13^  feet:  and  the  average  fall  1.12  foot  per  mile.  The 
velocity  at  low-water  nowhere  reaches  five  miles  per  hour  ;  but  at 
high  water  it  reaches  probably  seven.  Steamboats  of  the  least 
tonnage,  drawing  two  feet  of  water,  cannot  pass  at  low-water 
without  imminent  danger  of  getting  fast  on  the  rocks,  and  naviga- 
tion is  entirely  suspended,  at  this  stage  of  water.  According  to 
the  report  of  Lieut.  Warren,  of  the  Topographical  Engineers, 
(now  Brigadier  General,  and  Chief  of  Staff  to  the  Commander  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac),  there  is  three  feet  of  water  on  the  bars 
above  and  below  the  rapids  ;  and  as  the  water  rises,  owing  to  the 
greater  width  and  slope  of  the  rapids,  the  water  increases  on  the 
bars  more  than  on  the  reefs,  in  about  the  following  ratio  : 


With  3  feet  on  the  bars,  there  would  be  4 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 


feet  on  the  rapids. 


In  1837,  Lieut.  R.  E.  Lee,  now  Major  General  of  the  Confede- 
rate army,  was  detailed  by  the  Chief  of  the  Topographical  Bureau 
to  take  charge  of  the  operations  for  the  improvement  of  the  naviga- 
tion of  these  Rapids.  His  system  consisted  in  deepening  the  chan- 
nel of  the  water  by  blasting  out  the  rocks ;  and  the  result  wa«, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  pilots,  that  steamboats  drawing  from 
9  to  12  inches  more  water,  were  enabled  to  pass.  His  operations 
were  confined  to  the  Lower  and  English  chains.  The  Omega 


116 


patch,  or  Lower  chain,  is  regarded  as  the  most  difficult  of  all  to 
navigate,  owing  to  swift  cross-currents ;  but  the  obstructions  would 
have  been  removed,  had  the  work  been  continued. 

The  following  is  the  estimated  cost  of  improving  the  natural 
channel  of  these  Rapids  : 

FOR  CHANNEL  100  AND  200  FEET  WIDE   RESPECTIVELY,  AND  4  FEET  DEEP. 


100  feet. 
Cubic  yard*. 

200  feet. 
Cubic  yards. 

Cost  100  feet. 
$10  per  yd. 

Cost  200  feet. 
$10  per  yd. 

3,710 

14,070 

$37,100 

$140,700 

Nash  ville  Crossing  

1,288 

2  777 

12  880 

27  770 

La  Malle's  Chain  

7  927 

32  897 

79  270 

328  970 

4,243 

21  165 

42,430 

211,650 

Lower  Chain  

4813 

18  444 

48,130 

184  440 

Total  

21  981 

89  353 

$219  810 

$893  530 

UPPER,    OK   BOCK   ISLAND    RAPIDS. 

These  rapids  commence  about  one-half  mile  above  the  lower  end 
of  Rock  Island,  and  extend  for  13  miles  up  the  river.  The  princi- 
pal reefs  are  known  as  the  Lower  chain;  Rock  Island  chain,  two 
miles  above ;  Duck-creek  chain,  four  and  one-half  miles  above ; 
Campbell's  chain,  seven  and  one-half  miles  above;  St.  Louis  chain, 
ten  miles  above;  Sycamore  chain,  twelve  miles  above;  and  Upper 
chain,  at  the  head  of  the  rapids. 

The  rocks  consist  of  friable  limestone,  easily  quarried,  and  a 
soft  yellow  sandstone,  with  occasional  granite  boulders.  Small 
steamboats,  drawing  2£  feet  of  water,  pass  at  the  lowest  stages. 

Duck  and  Campbell's  chains  are  particularly  dangerous,  as  a 
boat,  to  avoid  the  rocks,  is  compelled  to  make  abrupt  turns. 

Rock  Island  chain  is  a  continuous  flat  reef  across  the  river  bed, 
with  a  low-water  depth  of  2£  feet.  By  connecting  the  islands 
with  the  Illinois  shore  by  a  dam,  the  water  has  been  raised  about 
ten  inches  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  width  of  the  river  has  been 
reduced  to  400  yards.  The  average  width  of  the  rapids  is  one- 
half  mile. 

The  fall  of  the  whole  series  of  rapids,  at  lowest  water,  is  22  feet, 
with  an  average  slope  of  1-^  foot  per  mile.  The  greatest  slopes 
of  surface  are  at  Upper,  Sycamore,  and  Rock  Island  chains,  the 
current  being  between  four  and  five  miles  per  hour.  The  range 
from  low  to  high  water  at  the  head  of  the  rapids  is  13  feet,  and  at 
the  foot  23  feet,  making  the  high-water  fall  12  feet,  or  ||  foot  per 
mile. 


117 


The  following  is  the  estimated  cost  of  the  removal  of  rock: 

FOR  A  CHANNEL  100  AND  200  FEET  WIDE  RESPECTIVELY,  AND  4  FEET  DEEP. 


100  feet. 
Cubic  yards. 

200  feet. 
Cubic  yards. 

Cost  100  feet. 
$10  per  yd. 

Cost  200  feet. 
$10  per  yd. 

2  960 

7  096 

$29  600 

$70  950 

560 

7770 

5  600 

77  700 

1,300 

13  000 

275 

1,540 

2,750 

15,400 

2  110 

9  380 

21  100 

93  800 

180 

180 

1  800 

1  800 

1,988 

3  815 

19,880 

88  150 

3  890 

8  200 

38,900 

82  000 

400 

6,735 

4,000 

57  350 

Total  

12,362 

45,015 

$123,620 

$450,150 

"  The  practicability, "  remarks  Lieut.  Warren,  "  of  improving  the  channel  by 
removing  the  rocks  in  the  bed  of  the  stream  has  been  proved  beyond  ques- 
tion, by  the  results  of  former  operations ;  and  a  careful  examination  of  the  obstruc- 
tions themselves  is  sufficient  to  convince  any  one  without  further  demonstration. 
All  of  the  rapids  pilots  I  have  heard  on  the  subject,  are  unanimously  of  this 
opinion;  so  no  apprehension  need  be  felt,  that  by  enlarging  the  narrow  passes  we 
shall  lower  the  water  in  the  pools  above,  and  cause  new  obstructions.  The  effect 
of  a  sluice-way,  two  hundred  feet  wide,  cannot  sensibly  affect  the  pools,  with  a 
whole  river  for  their  supply;  and  even  if  so,  it  can  be  remedied  by  depositing  the 
excavated  rock  in  the  numerous  small  chutes.  Sharp  edges  will,  in  most  cases, 
be  avoided  at  the  sides  of  the  channel,  as  the  improvement  will  be  effected  by 
removing  narrow  ledges  that,  at  present,  divide  the  channel,  and  the  sides  will 
remain  as  before." 

The  blasting,  in  the  operations  heretofore  performed,  was  effect- 
ed as  economically  and  as  rapidly  as  on  shore,  the  only  drawback 
having  been  the  limited  number  of  days  of  low- water  in  which  the 
work  could  be  prosecuted,  amounting  to  '28  days  in  the  fall  of  1828, 
and  three  months  in  1839.  The  detriment  which  these  two  rapids 
occasion  to  commerce  is  estimated  by  Mr.  O'Sullivan,  Civil  Engi- 
neer, at  $600,000  annually.  (Report  of  6r.  K.  Warren,  Lieut. 
Topographical  Engineers  U-  S.  A.  to  Supt.  of  Western  River  Im- 
provements, Ex.  Doc.  104,  33rd  Congress,  1st  Sess.,  House  Reps.\ 


118 


[E.] 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  FOX  AND  WISCONSIN 
RIVERS. 


Commencing  at  Green  Bay,  the  line  of  this  route  is  up  the  valley 
of  the  Fox  river,  forty-six  miles  to  Lake  Winnebago;  thence  through 
this  lake  for  sixteen  miles,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Upper  Fox  ;  thence 
by  that  stream,  110  miles  to  Portage  City,  formerly  Ft.  Winnebago; 
thence  by  artificial  canal,  two  miles,  into  the  Lower  Wisconsin; 
thence  down  that  stream  to  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi,  115 
miles — making,  in  all,  a  distance  of  283  miles.  This  route  has  been 
partially  improved  by  a  private  corporation,  under  the  authority  of 
the  State  of  Wisconsin,  but  the  navigation  is  precarious,  steam- 
boats being  able  to  ascend  the  Wisconsin  only  during  the  spring  and 
fall  freshets. 

"The  descent  of  the  Lower  Wisconsin,"  says  Mr.  Jenne,  the 
former  Superintendent  of  this  improvement,  "is  about  one  foot  to 
the  mile;  it  is  from  500  to  1000  feet  wid«,  with  a  current  of  two 
miles  per  hour.  There  is  a  channel,  in  all  cases,  of  five  to  six  feet 
deep,  in  low  water ;  but  this  being  crooked  when  the  water  spreads 
out,  requires  to  be  reduced  in  width,  by  means  of  wing-dams, 
when  the  river  will  make  it  own  channel  as  it  recedes  from  high 
to  low  water." 

The  cost  of  improving  the  Lower  Wisconsin,  115  miles  in  length, 
to  a  permanent  depth  of  at  least  six  feet,  is  estimated  by  Mr. 
Jenne  at  $250,000.  The  improvement  of  the  Fox  river,  and  a  ca- 
nal at  Portage  City,  have  been  made  by  locks  and  dams,  and  by 
dredging,  by  which,  a  permanent  depth  of  four  feet  has  been  se- 
cured, from  Portage  City  to  Green  Bay.  The  cost  of  enlarging 
the  locks,  so  as  to  admit  a  boat  200  feet  long,  and  34  feet  beam, 
and  deepening  the  channel  to  six  feet,  at  the  lowest  stages,  is  esti- 
mated, by  the  same  engineer,  at  $1,000,000,  and  the  time  required 
to  complete  the  work,  two  years. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Cram,  of  the  Topographical  Engineers,  has 
proposed  Lake  Winnebago  as  a  naval  station  for  the  Lakes.  This 
lake  is  twenty -eight  miles  long,  and  ten  broad ;  its  circumference 
is  74  miles,  and  it  covers  212  square  miles ;  and  the  depth  of  water 
off  shore  of  only  600  feet,  is  from  eight  to  eleven  feet.  Its  eastern 
shore  is  bordered  with  a  series  of  bluffs  of  limestone,  which  affords 
good  material  for  construction,  and  at  the  same  time,  readily  cal- 
cines into  lime.  Ship-timber,  consisting  of  pine  and  oak,  abounds 
in  the  immediate  vicinity.  The  soil  is  good,  and  the  climate 
healthy  and  invigorating.  But  the  surface  of  Lake  Winnebago  is 
elevated  164  feet  above  that  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  to  enable  a 
war-vessel  200  feet  long,  by  34  feet  beam,  and  requiring  a  depth 


119 

of  water  of  12  feet,  to  pass  from  one  lake  to  the  other,  would 
involve  the  construction  and  enlargement  of  some  twenty  locks, 
and  the  dredging  of  24,000  cubic  yards  of  silt  at  the  mouth  of  Fox 
river — the  whole  expense  of  which,  as  estimated  by  Col.  Cram, 
would  be  $1,662,384. 

There  are  sites  for  a  naval  station  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan, which,  while  they  possess  all  of  the  advantages  enumerated 
by  Col.  Cram,  are  not  subject  to  this  serious  disadvantage^  of 
requiring  a  lockage  of  160  feet,  in  a  distance  of  46  miles  to  reach 
the  Lakes.  For  example,  between  Little  Traverse  bay  and  the 
Michigan  shore  opposite  Bois  Blanc  Island,  there  is  a  chain  of 
lakes,  deep  and  high-banked,  some  of  which  are  from  10  to  15 
miles  in  length  by  5  in  breadth,  and  elevated  but  a  few  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  lake.  Grand  Traverse  bay  communicates  with 
a  similar  series  of  inland  sheets  of  water.  A  short  passage  com- 
municates with  Elk  lake,  which  is  connected  by  an  inconsiderable 
channel  with  Torch  lake,  which  is  20  miles  long  and  8  miles  broad, 
with  a  depth  of  over  a  thousand  feet,  while  the  harbor  of  the  bay 
is  secure  and  capacious.  The  height  of  this  chain  is  but  eight 
feet  above  the  bay,  so  that  while  a  single  lock  would  admit  of  the 
passage  of  a  vessel,  at  the  same  time  would  afford  an  unlimited 
water-power,  at  a  point  where  it  would  be  required.  The  head  of 
Torch  lake  approaches  within  one-half  mile  of  the  bay,  between 
which  the  excavation  of  a  canal  is  entirely  practicable.  The  series 
of  islands  known  as  the  Manitou,  Fox,  Beaver,  Garden,  and  Hog 
Islands,  afford  shelter  in  every  storm,  while  the  spacious  bays, 
Grand  and  Little  Traverse,  have  yielded  the  deepest  soundings 
yet  attained  in  Lake  Michigan. 

Mackinac,  or  rather  the  opposite  points.  Gros  Cap  and  La 
Barb,  as  known  to  every  one  familiar  with  the  Geography 
of  the  Lakes,  is  the  key  to  Lake  Michigan,  and  in  a  measure  to 
Lake  Superior.  What  Gibraltar  is  to  the  Mediterranean,  what 
Constantinople  is  to  the  Bosphorus,  what  Quebec  is  to  the  St. 
Lawrence,  Mackinac  may  be  made  to  the  North-West ;  and  the 
power  which  holds  this  important  passage  can  close  it  against  any 
naval  enemy,  and  afford  ample  protection  to  the  fleets  of  commerce. 

As  preliminary,  therefore,  to  all  defenses  of  the  Northern  Lakes, 
Mackinac  should  be  made  impregnable.  A  navy  yard,  at  either 
point  mentioned,  would  be  rendered  secure  by  the  protecting  guns 
of  the  Straits,  and  at  the  same  time,  the  floating  armaments  would 
be  within  supporting  distance  ; — ready  to  aid  in  repelling  attack, 
or  to  float  into  Huron  and  Erie. 

The  cost  of  such  a  work  would  be  far  less  than  that  suggested 
by  Col.  Cram,  and  would  be  within  cannon  range  of  the  waters 
pn  which  the  vessels  were  designed  to  float.  (Communication  of 
Lt.  Col.  T  J.  Cram;  Senate;  Miscellaneous  Doc.  No.  14,  37th 
Congress,  3rd  Session.) 


120 


[P.] 


ENLARGEMENT  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  CANALS. 


By  a  resolution  of  the  Assembly  of  that  State,  passed  March, 
1862,  the  State  Engineer  and  Surveyor  was  directed  to  examine 
and  report  on  the  practicability  of  the  enlargement  of  one  tier  of 
locks  through  the  length  of  the  Erie  and  Oswego  canals,  to  150 
feet  in  length  and  25  feet  in  width,  for  the  consideration  of  the 
General  Government,  as  connected  with  the  subject  of  lake  and 
frontier-defense. 

In  obedience  to  said  resolution  (Assembly  Document  No.  8),  the 
State  Engineer  reported  the  cost  of  enlarging  the  canals  to  the 
above  dimensions,  so  as  to  admit  the  passage  of  iron-clad  gun- 
boats of  the  dimensions  therein  mentioned,  as  follows: 

Enlarging  the  locks  on  the  Erie  canal $2,815,900.00 

Enlarging  the  locks  on  the  Oswego  canal 625,500 . 00 

$3,441,400.00 

The  Committee  of  the  Assembly  thus  speak  of  this  proposed 
enlarged  communication : 

"The  enlarged  Erie  canal  is  of  itself  a  splendid,  though  artificial  river;  its  depth 
of  water  is  seven,  and  its  breadrh  seventy  feet.  It  is  reliable,  constant  and  well- 
protected,  and  on  its  peaceful  bosom  is  borne  a  vast  tonnage,  immense  wealth,  and 
an  almost  imperial  commerce.  True,  it  is  and  was  designed  as  a  great  commercial 
channel,  a  highway  for  the  products,  whether  agricultural  or  manufactured,  of  a 
vast  country,  to  the  best  markets  of  that  country  and  of  the  world;  but  it  seems 
eminently  proper  that  the  ways  and  means  thus  furnished  for  the  purposes  of 
peaceful  trade  should  be  converted,  in  case  of  necessity,  into  a  means  of  deftnse 
and  protection  to  that  trade.  It  will  be  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  nation  and 
of  public  expenditures,  when  money  expended  for  purely  defensive  purposes  shall, 
in  the  largest  and  best  sense,  serve  the  ends  and  multiply  the  facilities  of  internal 
trade." 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  passed  April  22, 
1862,  it  is  stipulated  that, 

"  Whenever  the  Government  of  the  United  States  shall  provide  the  means,  either 
in  cash,  or  six  per  cent,  stock  or  bonds,  redeemable  within  20  years,  for  defraying 
the  cost  of  enlarging  a  single  tier  of  locks,  or  building  an  additional  tier,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  upon  the  Erie  and  Oswego  canals,  including  any  necessary  alteration  of 
said  canals,  or  other  structures,  to  a  size  sufficient  to  pass  vessels  adequate  to  the 
defense  of  the  Northern  and  North-western  Lakes,  the  Canal  Board  shall,  without 
delay,  put  such  work  under  contract,  in  the  manner  required  by  law,  to  be  con- 
structed and  completed  at  the  earliest  practicable  period,  without  serious  inter- 
ruption to  navigation ;  with  power  in  the  discretiou  of  the  Canal  Board  to  direct 
the  construction  of  new  and  independent  locks,  when  found  more  advantageous." 

"On  completing  the  said  work  on  either  of  the  said  canals,  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  shall  have  the  perpetual  right  of  passing  through  the  canals 


121 

thus  enlarged  or  built,  free  from  toll  or  charge,  for  its  vessels  of  war,  boats,  gun- 
boat?, transports,  troops,  supplies  or  munitions  of  war,  subject  to  the  general 
regulations  prescribed  by  the  State,  from  time  to  time,  for  the  navigation  of  its 
canals." 

Inasmuch  as  the  estimates  of  the  State  Engineer  were  assailed 
by  the  Military  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
Third  Session  of  the  37th  Congress,  the  General  Assembly,  at  its 
last  session,  directed  a  re-survey  of  the  said  canals,  by  the  State 
Engineer  and  a  United  States  Engineer,  with  a  view  of  adapting 
them  to  naval  defense,  and  in  reference  to  the  cost,  amount  of 
water,  etc.  etc.,  which  information  will  be  laid  before  the  Assem- 
bly at  the  next  session. 

The  memorial  of  the  State  Agent,  the  Hon.  S.  B.  Ruggles,  ad- 
dressed to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  by  him  commu- 
nicated to  Congress,  and  the  memorial  of  the  New  York  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  transmitted  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  at 
the  last  session,  contain  a  fund  of  statistical  information  as  to  the 
resources  of  the  country,  and  the  necessity  of  enlarged  outlets, 
which  is  worthy  the  attention  of  every  legislator. 

In  this  connection,  is  presented  the  subjoined  comprehensive 
letter  of  the  Hon.  N.  S.  BENTON,  Auditor  of  the  Canal  Department 
of  New  York,  in  reference  to  the  cost,  financial  condition,  the 
amount  of  freight,  and  the  lockage  capacity  of  the  Erie  canal. 


CANAL  DEPARTMENT,  ) 

ALBANY,  May  29,  1863.  j 

DEAR  SIR:  Heartily  concurring  in  the  objects  expressed  in  the 
call  for  a  National  Convention  to  assemble  at  Chicago  on  the  2nd 
day  of  June  next,  and  being  unable  to  attend,  I  take  the  liberty 
of  submitting  some  remarks  relating  to  the  subject  that  will  be 
brought  before  the  Convention  for  consideration  and  discussion. 
I  may  say  now  that  the  points  embraced  in  this  communication 
are  suggested  by  the  resolution  of  the  Honorable  Canal  Board  of 
this  State,  a  copy  of  which  is  annexed  to  this  letter.  They  are — 

1.  A  statement  of  the  cost  of  the  State  canals  connecting  the 
waters    of  the  Hudson   river    with  the   Northern  and   Western 
lakes. 

2.  A  view  of  the  present  and  prospective  financial  condition 
of  the  State  relating  to  her  canals.     This  is  given  to  show  her 
present  inability  to  contribute  materially  as  a  State  towards  the 
objects  contemplated  by  the  Convention. 

3.  A    statement  of  the  shipment  of  freights   at  the   western 
termination    of  the    Erie    and    the   northern   termination  of  the 
Oswego  canals  in  1860,  1861  and  1862;  with  the  tide-water  deliv- 
eries by  the  Erie  canal  of  Western  and  Canadian  products,  during 
the  same  period;  also  showing  the  large  annual  increase  both  of 
shipments  and  deliveries. 


122 

4.  A  statement  of  the  present  lockage  capacity  of  the  Erie 
canal.  The  enlargement  of  this  canal  has  been  declared  com- 
pleted. Some  improvements  in  its  water-channel  may  be  needed 
to  give  boats  six  feet  draft  of  water,  and  an  abundant  appropriation 
has  been  made  by  the  Legislature,  and  now  awaits  expenditure  by 
the  Canal  Commissioners. 

1.  Of  the  cost  of  construction,  of  the  Erie,  Champlain,  and 
Oswego  canals,  and  of  the  enlargement  of  the  same.  The  cost 
of  the  other  State  canals  is  purposely  omitted,  as  they  have  no 
direct  connection  with  the  trade  of  the  Western  States  and 
Canada. 

Co.'t  of  construction   and  completion  of  the  Erie  and  Champlain 
canals,  and  of  the  enlargement  of  the  Locks  on  the  Champlain 

canal $12,1 95,699.63 

Cost  of  the  enlargement  of  the  Erie  canal,  commenced  in  1835...     81,284,696.39 
Cost  of  original  construction,  and  of  the  enlargement  of  the  Oswego 

canal 8,077,429. 57 


$46,557,825.59 

In  this  statement  I  have  not  included  the  interest  paid  on  loans 
for  money  borrowed  for  the  construction,  enlargement,  and  com- 
pletion of  these  works.  Nor  have  I  brought  into  account  the 
annual  expenditures  and  outlays  for  superintendence,  collection  of 
tolls,  and  the  ordinary  repairs  and  maintenance  of  these  canals. 

2.  Of  the  present  canal  debt  of  the  State  ;  the  reimbursement 
of  which  is,  under  the  constitution  of  1846,  charged  directly  upon 
the  canal  tolls  and  revenues ;  and  it  is  made  the  duty  of  the  State 
officers  to  levy  a  sufficient  toll  upon  all  boats  and  property  passing 
on  the  canals,  to  meet  the  annual  charges  imposed  by  the  consti- 
tution, including  the  charges  for  ordinary  repairs. 

1862.  Sept.  30.  Canal  debt  contracted  prior  to  1846,  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  canals $8,839,024.76 

The  canal  debt  contracted  since  1846  and  prior  to  1860,  for  the 

enlargement  and  completion  of  the  canals 12,000,000.00 

Total  funded  debt,  charged  on  canal  revenues $20,839,024.76 

The  annual  contribution  required  by  the  constitution  to  be  made 
from  the  canal  tolls  and  revenues,  to  pay  the  interest  and  reim- 
burse the  principal  of  the  above  debt  as  it  falls  due,  amounts  to  $2,816,242.63 

In  addition  to  the  above,  there  is  a  further  annual  constitutional 
charge  upon  these  tolls,  to  reimburse  the  treasury,  for  the  sum  of 
$8,032,995,702,  advanced  by  the  Treasury  on  account  of  the 
canals  before  1846,  of '. 550,000.00 


Total  annual  charge $3,366,242.63 

If  the  canal-revenue  sinking  funds  are  at  any  time  deficient,  the 
constitution  requires  an  annual  levy  of  direct  taxes  to  make  good 
such  deficiency. 


123 

To  the  above  must  be  added  a  further  debt,*  contracted  for  canal 
purposes  upon  the  credit  of  the  State,  prior  to   1854,  to  be 

reimbursed  by  direct  taxation,  of $442,685.49 

And  also  a  further  debt  contracted  for  like  purposes  in  1859,  of. .        2,500,000.00 
Floating  unfunded  debt  for  claims  due  to  contractors,  and  for  laud 

1 ,500,000.00 


$4,442,585.49 

The  annual  charge  upon  the  treasury,  to  be  supplied  by  direct  taxa- 
tion to  pay  the  interest  and  reimburse  the  principal  of  the  debt, 
so  much  of  it  as  has  been  funded,  amounts  to $313,518.28 

*  $200,000  of  this  debt,  as  It  stood  at  the  close  of  the  last  fiscal  year,  due  next  October,  la 
omitted,  as  we  have  funds  on  hand  to  pay  it. 

RECAPITULATION. 

DKBT.  CONTRIBUTION. 

Stock-debt  of  the  State,  chargeable  upon  canal 
revenues $20,839,024.76 

Required  annual  contribution $3,366,242.68 

Stock  and  floating  debt  chargeable  upon  the 

treasury 4,442,585.49 

Required  annual  contribution,  paid  by  direct  taxa- 
tion   313,518.28 


Totals $25,281,610.25     $3,679,760.91 

This  annual  contribution  is  in  addition  to  the  annual  appropria- 
tion of  $800,000,  for  superintendence,  collection  and  ordinary 
repairs. 

Since  1853  we  have  levied  and  collected  direct  tazes,  and  applied 
the  same  to  the  enlargement  and  completion  of  our  canals,  to  the 
amount  of. $4,800,671.99 

Since  1854  we  have  raised  taxes  to  supply  the  deficiencies  in  our 

canal  sinking  funds  to  pay  interest,  to  the  amount  of 3,318,448.21 

Raised  by  taxes  to  make  good  canal-revenue  deficiencies  for  the 

General  Fund 2,737,500.00 


Total  taxation  for  canal  purposes  in  nine  years $10,856,620.20 

We  have  no  available  or  reliable  means  to  pay  off  our  present 
canal-floating  debt  of  $1.500,000  due  to  our  citizens,  but  a  resort 
to  the  pockets  of  our  tax-paying  citizens. 

The  constitution,  in  providing  for  the  payment  of  our  canal-debt, 
makes  no  distinction  between  the  debt  contracted  for  the  enlarge- 
ment and  one  incurred  for  the  construction  of  the  lateral  canals. 

3.     Of  the  shipments  of  Western  and  Canadian  products. 

Shipments  of  freight  at  Buffalo  in  1860,  were 1,113,754  tons. 

"  "  Tonawanda 116,502      " 

"  "  Oswego 751,900      " 

Total 1,982,156  tons. 

In  1861  there  were  cleared  at  Buffalo 1,579,745  tons. 

"  "  "  Tonawanda 77,036      " 

"  "  "  Oswego 609,222      " 

Total 2,266,003  tons. 


124 

In  1862,  cleared  at  Buffalo 1,980,945  tons. 

"           "             Tonawanda 99,711      " 

"           "              Oswego 638,419      " 


Total 2,719,075  tons. 

Increase  in  1862  over  1860 736,919  tons. 

Increase  in  1862  over  1861 453,072     " 

The  tide-water  deliveries  by  the  Erie  canal  from  the  West- 
ern States  and  Canada  in  1860,  were 1,896,975  tons. 

1861 2,158,425     " 

1862 2,594,837     " 

Increase  in  1862  over  1860 697,862  tons. 

Increase  in  1862  over  1861 436,412     " 

I  will  now  present  the  tide- water  deliveries  by  the  Erie  canal 
from  the  Western  States  and  Canada  for  several  years  : 

In  1842 221,477  tona. 

"  1847 812,840     " 

"  1852 1,151,978      " 

"  1857 919,998      " 

"  1862 2,594,837      " 

Showing  an  increase  of  Western  tonnage  delivered  at  tide 
water  since  1842,  equal  to  1171TW  per  cent.,  and  since  1852, 
equal  to  225^7  per  cent. 

The  average  cargo  of  boats  in  1842,  was 42  tons. 

"            "              "  1847 65  " 

"             "               "  1852 80  " 

«             "               "  1857 100  " 

"             "               "  1862 167  " 

Whole  number  of  lockages  at  Alexander's  Lock  during  1842,  was  22,869. 
"  "  "  "         "        1847,          43,957. 

"  "  "  "         "        1852,          41,572. 

"  '«  •«  "         "        1857,          22,182. 

"  "  "  "         "        1862,          34,977. 

The  rate  of  increase  on  the  average  of  the  cargoes  of  boats 
from  period  to  period,  is  55  per  cent.,  23  per  cent.,  25  per  cent., 
and  67  per  cent. 

4.  Of  the  lockage  capacity  of  the  Erie  canal.  I  now  give 
my  views  of  the  capacity  of  the  enlarged  Erie  canal,  operated 
with  single  and  double  locks  of  the  enlarged  size. 

I  assume  the  canal  completed,  with  a  water  way  of  70  feet  by  7, 
giving  to  canal  boats  of  the  largest  class  six  feet  draft  of  water, 
and  a  capacity  to  carry  7,000  bushels  of  wheat,  210  tons.  We  can 
pass  a  boat  through  a  single  lock  in  ten  minutes,  or  make  144 
lockages  in  twenty-four  hours — 72  lockages  each  way,  down  and 
return,  per  day.  During  the  season  of  navigation,  225  days,  we  can 
pass  through  a  single  lock,  14,750  loaded  boats,  of  200  tons  cargo 
each,  and  this  gives  an  aggregate  for  the  season  of  3,240,000  tons. 


125 

This  estimate  is  made  on  the  assumption  that  the  lock  is  in  good 
working  order  every  day,  that  there  are  no  breaks  or  detentions, 
and  that  the  locks  are  well  and  properly  attended  by  good  lock 
tenders. 

Double  locks  will  not  perform  double  the  service  of  a  single 
one.  But  double  locks  have  the  capacity  of  making  40,000 
lockages  in  a  season  of  navigation,  or  20,000  each  way.  Some  of 
our  double  locks  have  made  43,957  lockages  in  a  season.  On  this 
basis  the  capacity  of  the  double  locks  is  4,000,000  tons  each  way. 
An  actual  test  would  make  the  capacity  of  the  double  locks  over 
the  single  locks  larger  than  I  have  made  it. 

The  whole  number  of  tons  delivered  at  tide  water  from  the  Erie 
canal  in  1862,  was  2,917,094,  including  the  tonnage  from  the 
Westen  States,  etc.  The  whole  number  of  tons  delivered  in  1859, 
was  1,451,333  ;  so  that  a  prospective  increase  for  the  next  three 
years  equal  to  that  from  1859  to  1862,  will  bring  up  our  canal 
tonnage  to  the  full  capacity  of  our  double  locks. 

The  entire  limit  of  the  working  of  the  double  locks  at  Alexan- 
der's would  have  been  reached  in  1862,  with  the  tide  water  deliv- 
eries of  2,917,094  tons  in  boats  carrying  only  100  tons.  The 
required  lockages  each  way  would  have  been  29,170  for  the  season, 
and  260  lockages  per  day. 

A  recurrence  to  the  shipment  and  delivery  of  Western  products 
before  noticed  will  show  how  rapidly  we  are  approaching  our 
maximum. 

Before  we  reach  that  point,  however,  our  canal-debt  will  be  so 
far  reduced  as  to  release  our  canal  tolls  from  the  yearly  contri- 
bution of  $1,700,000,  when  we  shall  be  enabled  to  make  a  material 
reduction  in  our  rates  of  toll. 

MISCELLANEOUS   REMARKS. 

We  have  never  imposed  rates  of  toll  for  the  express  object  of 
raising  a  surplus  in  excess  of  the  constitutional  charges  upon  the 
canal-revenues.  We  have  obtained  those  surplus  remainders  at 
different  periods,  as  the  mere  results  of  a  prosperous  season's  traffic. 

The  rates  of  toll  were  so  much  reduced  from  those  of  1857,  by 
the  action  of  the  Canal  Board  and  Legislature  in  1858  and  1859, 
that  the  whole  gross  receipts  from  3,781,684  tons  of  property 
carried  in  1859,  was  only  $1,723,915.  Here  we  encountered  a 
constitutional  deficiency  in  revenue  of  more  than  $2,500,000. 
This  state  of  things — lasting  four  years,  with  a  prospect  of  continu- 
ance— would  have  carried  the  Erie  canal  even  under  the  auc- 
tioneer's hammer.  Better  councils  than  those  of  1858-9  prevailed 
in  1860.  We  saw,  or  thought  we  saw,  the  State  would  lose  the 
canals,  or  we  must  take  measures  to  restore  the  toll  rates  of  1857. 
By  the  toll-sheet  adopted  in  the  winter  of  1860,  we  made  a  partial 
approach  to  the  rates  of  1857  from  those  of  1859.  By  the  toll- 
Bheet  adopted  before  the  4th  March,  1861,  the  rates  of  1857  were 
attained  on  all  Western  products,  except  half  a  mill  on  wheat 


126 

and  flour.  The  rates  on  corn  and  corn  meal  were,  in  1861,  raised 
half  a  mill  above  those  of  1857.  In  the  winter  of  1862  the  rates 
on  wheat  and  flour  were  brought  to  the  standard  of  1857.  The 
rates  of  1862  and  1863  are  alike.  The  increase  on  wheat  and 
flour  in  1862  is  no  compensation  to  the  State  for  the  difference  in 
the  commercial  value  of  the  currency  we  receive  for  tolls,  com- 
pared with  the  currency  of  1857. 

Although  not  exactly  in  place,  perhaps,  it  is  just  and  proper, 
and  within  the  scope  of  the  authority  under  which  I  make  this 
communication,  that  I  should  notice  certain  published  allegations 
that  materially  affect  the  honor  and  dignity  of  our  State. 

It  has  been  asserted  that  we  recently  raised  our  rates  of  toll, 
and  thus  increased,  by  State  authority,  exactions  upon  Western 
products,  in  consequence  of  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi 
river  being  closed  to  the  loyal  people  of  the  Western  States. 
Was  that  navigation  closed  before  the  4th  of  March,  1861  ?  The 
free  navigation  of  that  river  was  obstructed  by  an  act  of  the 
rebel  Congress  in  February,  1861,  and  the  first  hostile  gun  was 
fired  in  Charleston  harbor  in  April  following.  Neither  the  fact  of 
obstruction,  nor  the  anticipation  of  it,  had  any  influence  whatever 
in  fixing  the  rates  of  tolls  upon  our  canals. 

Whatever  of  our  wealth  and  means,  be  they  much  or  little,  or 
whatever  of  men  or  material  may  be  required  to  open  the  Father 
of  Waters  to  the  free  occupancy  and  enjoyment  of  our  loyal 
brethren  of  the  Western  States,  New  York  does  not  hesitate  to 
give  freely ;  when  she  does,  then  she  may  be  justly  charged,  but 
not  before,  with  imposing  exactions  upon  the  necessities  of  her 
loyal  neighbors.  This  charge  against  the  State  is  unkind,  unde- 
served, and  not  justified  by  the  facts  of  the  case. 

There  may  have  been  just  causes  of  complaint  in  respect  to  the 
high  rate  of  freight-charges  the  two  past  years;  and  if  so,  the 
following  exhibit  may  explain  to  what  extent  this  State  and  the 
carriers  have  participated  in  these  high  rates. 

CHARGES  BY  THE  BUFFALO  ROUTE. 

In  1861  the  highest  monthly  freight  average  on  wheat  from          c.  m.  fr. 

Chicago  to  New  York,  per  bushel,  was $0.88.9.4 

Lowest  monthly  average 0.17.2.6 

Average  for  the  season 0.27.2  8 

State  canal  tolls,  $0.05.1.7  per  bushel. 

c.  m.  fr. 

1862.     Highest  monthly  average $0.84.9.4 

Lowest  monthly  average 0.20.3.1 

Average  for  the  season 0.26.3.3 

State  canal  tolls,  $0.06.2.1  per  bushel. 

For  these  toll-charges,  New  York  furnished  345  miles  of 
artificial  navigation. 

The  freight  charges  by  the  Oswego  route  were  very  nearly  the 
same  both  years. 


127 

In  closing  this  communication,  I  have  only  to  repeat  here  an 
opinion  I  have  long  entertained,  that  if  we  desire  to  increase  the 
facilities  of  transit  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Atlantic  by  the  way  of 
the  New  York  canals,  we  can  only  do  so  by  enlarging  the  locks, 
so  as  to  permit  the  passage  of  vessels  through  the  present  water- 
channels  adapted  to  the  use  of  steam  entirely,  and  of  sufficient 
capacity  to  carry  18,000  or  20,000  bushels  of  wheat.  Any  change 
from  six  feet  draft  of  water,  and  an  elevation  of  the  bridges  over 
twelve  feet  above  the  present  surface  line  of  the  waters  of  the 
canal,  would  be  impracticable,  where  the  canal  passes  through  our 
cities  and  villages.  No  satisfactory  estimate  ever  can  be  made 
of  the  cost  of  such  change. 

The  necessities  of  a  reduction  in  the  cost  of  transit  on  Western 
products  to  the  Atlantic  are  too  apparent  to  require  examination 
or  discussion  ;  and  it  appears  we  have  now  reached  a  period  when 
we  should  initiate  measures  with  a  view  of  providing  facilities  for 
the  transport  of  the  increasing  products  of  the  Western  and 
North-western  States. 

I  hope  and  trust  these  great  objects  will  be  accomplished  by 
the  wisdom  and  forecast  of  the  Convention,  about  to  assemble 
at  Chicago. 

I  am  very  respectfully,  etc., 

N.  S.  BENTON. 

J.  W.  FOSTER,  Esq., 

Secretary  at  Large,  Chicago. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Canal  Board  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
held  at  the  Canal  Department,  the  25th  day  of  May,  1863. 

Present:  The  Lieutenant-Governor,  Comptroller,  Secretary  of 
State,  State  Engineer  and  Surveyor,  and  Canal  Commissioners 
ALBERGEB,  WEIGHT,  and  SKINNER. 

The  Comptroller  offered  the  following  preamble  and  resolution, 
which  were  adopted : 

WHEREAS,  The  Canal  Board  has  been  informed  that  the  Governor  has 
designated  the  Hon.  NATHANIEL  S.  BKNTON,  Auditor  of  the  Canal  Department,  as 
one  of  the  delegates  from  this  State  to  the  Convention  to  be  held  at  Chicago,  on 
the  2nd  day  of  June  next,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  subject  of  obtaining 
increased  facilities  fortranspottation  of  produce  and  merchandise  between  tide- 
water and  the  Western  and  Northwestern  States ;  AND  WHEREAS,  it  is  desirable 
that  such  Convention  should  be  fully  and  accurately  informed  as  to  the 
position  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  this  respect,  of  the  nature  and  extent  of 
her  public  works,  and  of  the  great  exertions  and  expenditures  which  her  people 
have  made  in  the  construction  of  such  works,  as  well  as  of  their  de&ire  to 
co-operate  with  their  Western  brethren  in  the  largest  spirit  of  liberality  consistent 
with  justice,  and  the  preservation  of  the  public  faith  ; 

Therefore,  be  U  Resolved,  That  the  Auditor  be  requested  on  behalf  of  the  Canal 
Board,  to  attend  the  said  Convention,  to  the  end  that  it  may,  so  far  as  practica- 
ble, avail  itself  of  his  long  experience,  his  accurxte  statistical  knowledge  in  regard 
to  the  extent  of  our  public  works,  their  cost,  the  debt  and  taxation  incurred  in 
their  construction,  their  capacity,  the  extent  of  their  business  and  revenue,  the 
rates  of  toll,  and  such  other  details  as  may  be  deemed  important  by  the  said 
Convention. 


128 


NOTE  — AS  TO  THE  PHYSICAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE 
MISSISSIPPI. 


The  following  information  respecting  the  regimen  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  and  which  has  a  direct  bearing  on 
the  nature  of  the  water-communication  between  the  Great  Valley 
and  the  Great  Lakes,  is  compiled  from  the  "  Report  upon  the  Phy- 
sics and  Hydraulics  of  the  Mississippi  River,  by  Capt.  A.  A.. 
Humphreys,  and  Lieut.  H.  L.  Abbot,  of  the  Corps  of  Topo- 
graphical Engineers  U.  S.  A.;  and  published  under  the  authority 
of  the  War  Department,  1861 ; — one  of  the  ablest  and  most  philo- 
sophical works,  on  the  hydraulics  of  running  water,  to  be  found 
in  the  whole  range  of  science. 

MISSOURI   BASIN. 

This  is  much  the  largest  of  any  of  the  tributary  basins  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  has  its  sources  in  a  region  traversed  by  lofty 
mountain  chains.  The  size  of  the  river  is  disproportionately  small 
compared  with  the  area  traversed.  Its  annual  discharge  is  only 
about  three-fourths  that  of  the  Ohio,  although  its  basin  is  nearly 
two  and  a  half  times  as  large. 

Its  range  between  low  and  high  water  at  its  mouth,  is  about  35 
feet ;  20  at  St.  Joseph's,  and  at  Fort  Benton,  about  6  feet.  Its 
average  high-water  width  for  600  miles  above  its  mouth  is  300  feet. 
The  regimen  of  the  Missouri  above  Milk  river,  according  to  Lieut. 
Grover,  is  as  follows:  Owing  to  the  great  elevation  of  its  sources, 
the  melting  of  the  snows  begins  to  swell  the  torrent  early  in  the 
spring  and  goes  on  gradually  to  higher  elevations,  as  the  season 
advances,  constantly  diminishing  until  August,  when  it  commences 
falling.  The  depth  of  water  for  the  first  of  June  is  'A  feet;  first  of 
July,  2£  feet ;  first  of  August,  2  feet ;  and  first  of  September,  1  foot. 

The  navigation  of  the  Lower  Missouri,  according  to  Lieut.  War- 
ren, is  generally  closed  by  ice  at  Sioux  city  by  the  lOthof  Novem- 
ber. The  rainy  season  commences  between  the  loth  of  May  and 
the  30th  of  June,  and  lasts  about  two  months,  during  which  the 
river  is  in  good  boating  stage. 

The  floods  from  melting  snows  reach  the  lower  river  about  the 
1st  of  July,  which  generally  last  a  month. 

The  American  Fur  Company's  boats  are  the  largest  class  of 
freight-boats  that  navigate  the  Missouri,  carrying  from  150  to  200 
tons  to  the  Yellowstone,  a  distance  of  1900  miles,  and  drawing 
from  3  to  4i  feet  water.  One  of  the  greatest  obstructions  to  the 
navigation  of  this  river,  consists  in  the  great  number  of  snags  or 
trees,  which  render  it  necessary  for  the  boat  to  lie  by  at  night,  and 
thus  occasions  a  loss  of  nearly  half  of  their  running  time. 


129 

The  least  low-water  depth  on  the  bars  at  Ft.  Benton,  Sioux  City, 
St.  Joseph  and  at  its  mouth,  is  1.0  foot.  Its  width  at  Ft.  Beuton  is 
4,500  feet,  and  at  the  mouth,  3,000  ;  the  mean  discharge  per  second 
is  120,000  cubic  feet. 

THE    UPPER   MISSISSIPPI    RIVER 

Is  navigable  80  miles  above  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  ;  but  at 
this  point  occurs  a  perpendicular  fall  of  40  feet,  with  a  formidable 
rapid  above  and  below — the  entire  fall,  being  65  feet.  The  range 
between  high  and  low-water  level  is  about  20  feet  near  Sandy  Lake 
river;  20  at  St.  Paul;  10  at  La  Crosse;  12  at  Prairie  du  Chien; 
16  at  Rock  Island;  20  at  Hannibal,  and  35  at  the  mouth. 

Its  average  width  below  Ft.  Snelling  is  about  one  mile.  The 
least  low-water  depth  on  the  bar  is  2.0  feet  between  St.  Paul  and 
Prairie  du  Chien,  and  2.0  between  Rock  Island  rapids  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Missouri,  and  2.0  between  St.  Louis  and  Cairo.  The 
mean  discharge  per  second  is  105,000  cubic  feet. 

With  regard  to  the  Lower  Mississippi,  the  least  low-water,  be- 
tween Cairo  and  Memphis,  is  5.0  feet;  and  between  Gaines'  and 
Red-river  landing,  6.0  feet. 

The  width  between  the  banks  varies  from  2,500  to  4,500  feet; 
the  annual  discharge  is  21,300,000,000,000  cubic  feet,  or  75,000 
cubic  feet  per  second. 

OHIO    BASIN. 

The  Ohio  river,  throughout  its  whole  length  (975  miles)  in  low 
water,  is  a  succession  of  pools  and  ripples,  and  is  devoid  of  falls, 
except  at  Louisville,  where  it  descends  twenty-six  feet  in  three 
miles.  The  range  between  extreme  low  and  extreme  high  water 
is  about  45  feet.  At  Wheeling  it  is  45  feet ;  at  Louisville,  42  feet 
on  the  Falls,  and  64  feet  below  them;  at  Evansville,  40  feet;  at 
Paducah,  51  feet;  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  51  feet.  The  least 
low- water  depth  on  the  bars,  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  to  Padu- 
cah, is  about  3.0  feet;  thence  to  Louisville,  1.5;  thence  to  Cincin- 
nati, 2.0  to  2.5  feet;  thence  to  Wheeling,  1.0  foot. 

The  mean  width  of  the  river,  between  Pittsburgh  and  Pt.  Pleas- 
ant is  1,000  feet  at  low  \vater,  and  1,200  feet  at  high  water;  but  at 
the  mouth  it  expands  to  about  2,500  and  3,000  feet.  It  discharges 
annually  about  five  trillions  of  cubic  feet,  or  about  one-fourth  of  the 
annual  discharge  of  the  Mississippi.  The  usual  succession  of  the 
stages  of  the  water  is  as  follows:  January,  the  river  is  frozen j 
February,  breaking  up,  and  high  ;  March,  high  ;  April,  high  ;  May, 
falls  somewhat;  June,  rises  again;  July,  falls,  and  is  low  ;  August, 
very  low ;  September,  very  low;  October,  very  low;  November, 
rises ;  December,  well  up.  In  August  and  September  it  is  only 
navigable  for  boats  of  18  inches  draft. 

It  is  evident,  from  these  statistics,  that  a  canal  between  the  Val- 
ley of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Great  Lakes,  preserving  a  uniform 
9 


130 

depth  of  seven  feet  during  the  period  of  navigation,  from  April  to 
November,  would  afford  a  better  navigation  than  that  of  any  of 
the  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi,  or  even  the  main  river  itself.  In 
the  summer  and  autumn,  while  the  river-navigation  would  be  im- 
peded, and,  at  certain  points,  practically  suspended,  the  canal- 
navigation  would  be  in  perfection ;  on  the  other  hand,  in  the  winter 
and  spring,  while  the  canal-navigation  was  suspended  by  ice,  the 
river-navigation  would  be  at  its  highest  stage.  Thus,  a  choice  of 
markets  would  be  opened  to  every  producer  in  the  Great  Valley, 
by  a  water-communication,  cheap  and  expeditious,  through  which 
his  crops  would  move  as  soon  as  harvested. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


FROM  HON.  EDWARD  BATES, 

Attorney  General  of  the  United  States. 

WASHINGTON,  May  27,  1863. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  : — Until  two  days  ago,  I  had  confidently  hoped  to 
be  with  you  at  the  Canal  Convention,  to  be  held  at  Chicago  on  the 
second  of  June;  but  I  am  disappointed.  And  it  is  a  real  disap- 
pointment to  me,  for  I  am  not  only  deprived  of  the  pleasure  and 
instruction  anticipated  at  the  Convention,  but  I  am  balked,  also,  in 
my  intended  visit  to  my  own  city,  St.  Louis,  which  I  have  not  seen 
for  more  than  two  years. 

It  is  my  misfortune,  and  I  am  a  great  loser  by  it.  But  I  cannot 
control  the  circumstances  which  seem  to  make  it  my  duty  to  re- 
main, for  the  present  time. 

I  did  feel  an  ambition  to  take  some  little  part  in  the  effort  now  in 
progress,  to  advance  your  great  and  beneficent  object — to  cast  in 
one  drop  to  swell  the  current  of  your  noble  enterprise.  I  am 
identified  with  the  Great  Valley  by  nearly  fifty  years  of  residence 
and  labor  in  it ;  and  I  have  some  appreciation  of  its  boundless 
capabilities,  which  need  nothing  to  secure  a  success  that  will  aston- 
ish the  world,  but  the  wise  exercise  of  the  good  sense  of  the  nation, 
and  the  prudent  application  of  its  means. 

Our  Valley  presents  an  anomaly  in  geographical  science.  It  is 
the  only  instance  that  I  know  of,  where  two  mighty  rivers  occupy 
one  and  the  same  valley — and  that  valley  the  largest,  richest,  most 
inviting  to  human  labor,  on  the  face  of  the  globe ;  for  there  is  no 
mountain,  no  dividing  ridge,  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  St. 
Lawrence. 

I  am  really  sorry  I  cannot  be  with  you;  for  (to  confess  my  weak- 
ness) I  did  wish  to  make  a  speech  before  your  Convention,  upon 
Borne  of  the  topics  which  must  come  under  discussion  there — topics 
somewhat  familiar  to  me  for  nearly  half  a  century,  and  always  full 
of  interest  and  hope. 

I  remain,  sir,  with  great  respect, 

HON.  I.  N.  ARNOLD.  EDWD.  BATES. 


FROM  HON.  CHARLES   SUMNER, 

A  Senator  of  the  United  States,  from  Massachusettt. 

WASHINGTON,  May  27,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN  : — I  must  resign  reluctantly  the  opportunity  with 
which  I  am  favored  by  your  invitation,  and  content  myself  with 


132 

reading  the  report  of  your  powerful  and  well  organized  meeting  at 
Chicago,  without  taking  any  part  in  it. 

The  proposition  to  unite  the  greatest  navigable  river  of  the  world 
with  the  greatest  inland  sea,  is  characteristic  of  the  West;  the 
river  is  worthy  of  the  fountain ;  and  the  fountain  is  worthy  of  the 
river.  The  mere  idea  of  joining  these  together,  strikes-the  imag- 
ination as  something  original.  But  the  highest  beauty  is  in  utility, 
which  will  not  be  wanting  here.  With  this  union,  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  will  be  joined  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  whole 
continent,  from  Northern  cold  to  Southern  heat,  traversed  by  one 
generous  flood,  bearing  upon  its  bosom  untold  commerce. 

It  will  be  for  the  West  to  consider  well  the  conditions  of  this 
enterprise,  and  the  advantages  it  will  secure.  Let  its  practicability 
be  demonstrated,  and  the  country  will  command  it  to  be  done,  as  it 
has  already  commanded  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi.  Triumph- 
ant over  the  wickedness  of  an  accursed  rebellion,  here  will  be 
another  triumph,  which  will  be  among  the  victories  of  Peace. 

To  this  magnificent  work  science  must  contribute  her  resources. 
But  there  is  something  which  is  needed,  even  to  quicken  and 
inspire  science  ;  it  is  the  unconquerable  will,  which  does  not  yield 
to  difficulties,  but  presses  forward  to  overcome  them.  There  is  no 
word  which  is  used  with  more  levity  than  the  word  "impossible." 
A  scientific  professor  declared  in  a  public  address,  that  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Atlantic  by  steam  was  "impossible."  Within  a  few 
weeks  it  was  done.  The  British  Prime  Minister  declared  in  Parlia- 
ment that  the  construction  of  a  canal  between  the  Mediterranean  and 
the  Red  sea  was  "impossible."  The  Pacha  of  Egypt,  with  French 
engineers,  is  now  doing  it.  Mirabeau  was  right  when  he  protested 
against  the  use  of  this  word,  as  simply  stupidity.  But  I  doubt  if 
this  will  be  found  in  any  Western  Dictionary. 

Believe  me,  gentlemen,  with  much  respect, 

Very  faithfully  yours, 

CHARLES  SUMNER. 
To  Hon.  JAMES  ROBB,  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  and  others  of  the  Committee,  etc.,  etc. 


FROM  HIS  EXCELLENCY,  RICHARD  YATES, 

Governor  of  Illinois. 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 

SPRINGFIELD,  June  1st,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN  : — I  received  your  invitation  to  be  present  at  the 
Ship-Canal  Convention,  on  the  2nd  day  of  June,  and  though  I  hope 
to  reach  your  city,  yet  my  health  will  not  be  sufficiently  recovered 
to  take  any  active  participation  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Con- 
vention. 

I  beg  leave,  however,  most  heartily  and  most  fully  to  indorse 
the  object  of  your  assembling,  not  only  as  of  most  vital  importance 
to  Illinois,  within  whose  boundaries  one  of  the  most  important 


133 

works  to  be  considered  by  you,  is  to  be  located,  but  as  affecting 
the  interests,  welfare  and  destinies  of  every  State  so  materially,  as 
to  challenge  the  hearty  and  united  co-operation  of  the  whole 
country. 

I  regard  this  enterprise  as  combining,  in  three  comprehensive 
degrees,  principles  and  purposes  which  should  commend  it  to  every 
patriot  and  philanthropist. 

That  which  adds  to  our  commercial  prosperity,  increases  our 
military  strength,  and  tends  to  cement  our  Union,  should  certainly 
enlist  a  large  share  of  our  earnest  consideration. 

Deeply  solicitous  as  to  the  result  of  the  great  struggle,  now  going 
on  for  our  glorious  Union,  (in  which,  may  God  grant  the  victory 
to  our  noble  patriots  perilling  their  lives  upon  the  battle-field  for 
the  cause  of  Union,  liberty  and  morality,)  I  look  upon  the  comple- 
tion of  this  truly  national  enterprise  as  next  in  importance  to  the 
salvation  of  the  country. 

He  who  establishes  his  claim  as  a  patron  of  the  work,  helps  to 
advance  in  the  highest  degree  our  national  prosperity,  to  establish 
our  military  supremacy  on  the  continent,  and  to  bind  in  more  indis- 
soluble bonds  the  States  of  our  Union.  He  proposes  by  this  most 
important  link  in  the  chain  of  international  communication,  to  ena- 
ble the  General  Government  to  grasp  the  great  Father  of  Rivers 
in  one  hand,  and  the  great  system  of  Northern  Lakes  in  the  other, 
and  to  say  to  all  enemies  of  our  Union: 

"What  God  and  Nature,  the  arts,  sciences, and  civilization  have 
joined  together,  let  not  the  spirit  of  disunion,  the  incidental  obsta- 
cles of  material  progress,  or  the  barbarism  of  a  society  founded 
upon  a  system  of  unrequited  labor,  put  asunder." 

The  completion  of  this  work  would  bring  our  agricultural  and 
manufacturing  interests  into  closer  proximity,  and  would  add  im- 
mensely to  the  amount  and  profit  of  our  productions ;  while  by  the 
saving  in  transportation,  the  consumer  in  our  own  and  foreign 
countries  would  receive  every  commodity  at  a  much  reduced  price. 
Already  the  London  Times  and  other  organs  predict  that,  if  this 
and  similar  works  connecting  the  Western  States  with  the  seaboard 
are  completed,  the  farmers  of  Great  Britain  must  turn  their  atten- 
tion to  other  crops  than  cereals ;  while  the  Irish  newspapers  assert, 
that  the  agricultural  products  of  that  country,  for  which  Great 
Britain  has  heretofore  been  the  market,  could  not  withstand  the 
competition  with  this  country. 

Under  the  present  incomplete  means  of  transportation,  it  costs 
more  than  the  price  at  which  corn  may  be  profitably  grown  in  Illi- 
nois, to  convey  it  to  the  seaboard  and  to  Europe ;  and  it  is  only  in 
time  of  famine  or  great  scarcity  that  we  are  able  to  compete  with, 
the  dependencies  of  Great  Britain  in  her  markets.  Let,  however, 
enlarged  facilities  of  transit  be  created  between  the  West  and  the 
seaboard,  and  Indian  corn  may  be  used  in  Great  Britain,  not  only 
as  it  now  is,  for  human  food,  but  for  fattening  cattle,  hogs,  sheep, 
etc.  And  when  these  facilities  are  created,  which  will  be  very 
goon,  if  Eastern  and  Western  enterprise  unite  in  the  great  purpose, 


134 

the  Illinois  farmers,  by  the  aid  of  improved  agricultural  and  im- 
proved farming  machinery,  can  distance  all  continental  European 
competitors  in  the  British  markets,  while  the  agricultural  suprem- 
acy of  the  Western  States  will  be  established  for  all  time  in  the 
world's  markets. 

With  soils  of  exhaustless  capacity  for  production,  with  a  hardy 
and  intelligent  yeomanry,  and  with  such  rivers,  railroads,  canals 
and  lakes,  Agriculture  will  have  her  millenium  in  the  North- West, 
and  reap  harvests  such  as  the  world  never  saw;  and  at  the  same 
time,  by  day  and  by  night,  myriads  of  engines  will  bring  back,  over 
the  same  channels  of  trade,  the  manufactured  products  of  the  East, 
to  supply  an  ever-increasing  demand,  thus  adding  immensely  to  the 
profits  of  every  producer,  manufacturer  and  laborer,  and  to  the 
general  wealth  of  the  country. 

As  a  question  of  military  supremacy,  the  merest  tyro  in  the  art 
of  war  must  see  that  the  power  which  possesses  the  naval  command 
of  the  Lakes  must  have  the  command  of  all  the  territory  bordering 
on  them,  either  for  offense  or  defense.  The  Mississippi  pierces  the 
Cotton  States  of  the  South,  divides  them  in  twain,  and  gives  them 
virtually  into  the  hands  of  the  power  that  has  the  control  of  that 
stream.  The  Lakes  of  the  North  pierce  the  great  agricultural 
region  of  the  North-West,  and  give  it  into  the  hands  of  the  power 
that  controls  them.  We  cannot,  in  the  event  of  a  war  with  Eng- 
land, successfully  carry  on  military  operations  against  Canada^ 
unless  we  hold  the  Lakes  as  the  basis  of  such  operations.  Nor 
can  Canada  successfully  engage  in  military  operations  against  the 
Western  States,  unless  she  controls  the  Lakes  as  the  basis  of  such 
operations. 

It  is  related  that,  towards  the  close  of  the  last  war  with  Great 
Britain,  the  ministry  of  that  country  proposed  to  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  that  he  would  take  command  of  the  British  army  in 
Canada.  That  able  general  and  statesman,  it  is  said,  answered 
that  he  could  only  do  so  on  condition  that  his  land  operations 
should  be  seconded  by  a  fleet  upon  the  Lakes,  sufficiently  numerous 
and  powerful  to  sweep  them  throughout  their  whole  extent.  This 
not  being  conceded  to  him,  and  probably  rendered  impossible  by 
the  victories  of  Perry,  McDonough,  and  others  of  our  naval  heroes 
of  that  day,  or  peace  having  shortly  afterwards  been  declared,  the 
project  of  sending  the  conqueror  of  Napoleon  to  head  the  armies 
then  operating  against  the  United  States  was  abandoned.  But  the 
British  Government  never  has  forgotten  the  principle  upon  which  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  proposed  to  conduct  the  campaign.  It  imme- 
diately proceeded  to  complete  a  series  of  canals  in  the  Canadas, 
which  have  not  only  added  greatly  to  the  commercial  prosperity  of 
these  Provinces,  but  also  rendered  it  possible  for  the  mother  coun- 
try, at  any  time,  to  undertake  offensive  operations  against  the 
United  States,  without  the  necessity  of  maintaining  an  additional 
fleet  upon  the  Lakes. 

At  present,  then,  the  power  to  control  the  great  Northern  Lakes 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  British  Government,  since  by  her  system  of 


135 

canals,  she  can,  in  a  few  days  or  weeks  at  farthest,  place  a  fleet  of 
two  hundred  or  two  hundred  and  fifty  gun-Tooats  (always  kept  in 
readiness  in  her  home  dock-yards)  upon  them.  This  fleet  could 
not  only  annihilate  our  commerce,  but  place  all  of  the  lake  cities, 
without  a  single  exception,  at  the  mercy  of  the  invader.  We 
would  thus  commence  the  war  under  disadvantages,  which  only 
the  most  heroic  exertions  and  most  terrible  sacrifice  of  men  and 
material  could  overcome. 

Give  us,  however,  a  water-communication  of  the  seaboard  and 
the  Lakes  with  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  by  a  ship-canal  of 
superior  or  equal  dimensions  with  those  of  the  Canadas,  and  we 
would  be  placed  on  equal  terms  with  Great  Britain,  and  readily 
transfer  our  fleet  of  gun  boats  and  transports  and  munitions  of  war 
to  the  Lakes,  and  our  armies  to  their  shores,  ready  to  drive  back  the 
invading  enemy. 

But,  if  it  is  granted  that  such  a  work  would  add  greatly  to  out 
military  power  and  naval  prestige,  and  commercial  facilities,  then 
its  benefits  as  an  additional  bond  of  Union,  must  be  admitted.  It 
would  indeed  be  an  additional  link  to  the  chain  of  artificial  com- 
munication which  now  binds  the  East  and  West,  and  the  first  of 
which  was  forged,  in  so  many  and  appaling  difficulties,  by  the  ever- 
to-be-remembered  De  Witt  Clinton,  when  he  completed  the  New 
York  and  Erie  canal.  That  work  was  the  first  and  enduring  tri- 
umph of  art  over  nature,  on  the  continent.  It  has  been  followed 
by  many  other  victories  and  achievements  of  American  genius  and 
enterprise,  scarcely  less  renowned  than  those  of  war  itself.  We 
have  but  to  look  at  the  vast  net-work  of  railroads,  traversing  every 
part  of  the  country ;  the  long  trains  of  cars  which  sweep  at  the  rate 
of  forty  miles  per  hour  along  the  cragged  sides  of  the  Alleghanies; 
the  untiring  tramp'  of  the  iron  horse  over  unmeasured  leagues, 
across  rapid  rivers,  and  through  perforated  rock,  and  cliff,  and  hill; 
to  be  convinced  that  there  is  no  undertaking,  within  the  range  of 
possible  achievement,  which  cannot  be  accomplished  by  American 
genius,  skill,  and  enterprise. 

The  time  has  now  come,  and  will  not  longer  be  delayed,  when 
the  last  and  strongest  connecting  links  in  the  chain,  and  by 
far  the  most  important  works  in  a  military  and  commercial  point 
of  view,  must  be  completed.  We  cannot  look  over  the  magnifi- 
cent outlines  of  this  country  without  seeing  that  the  works  pro- 
posed by  this  Convention  are  not  only  material  and  proper,  but  in 
the  course  of  events  inevitable.  The  Mississippi  and  Missouri, 
4,000  miles  in  length,  and  with  their  tributaries,  comprising  20,000 
miles  of  inland  navigation,  with  numerous  flourishing  States  and 
Territories  upon  their  banks,  and  floating  hundreds  of  millions  of 
commerce  on  their  currents,  have  for  some  months  been  closed  to 
our  commerce,  by  a  blockade  which  could  not  have  been  main- 
tained for  one  month,  if  the  ship-canal  from  the  Illinois  river  to 
Chicago,  and  uninterrupted  water  transit  to  the  Eastern  cities, 
had  existed.  The  existence  of  actual  war  is  an  argument  whict 
our  people  fondly  hoped  never  to  have  had,  but  it  now  loudly  di- 


136 

mands  the  construction  of  this  canal  as  the  first  military  necessity; 
to  prepare  the  country  not  only  for  the  highest  commercial  advance- 
ment, but  for  any  warlike  emergencies  which  may  arise,  and  as  a 
perpetual  hond  of  union  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  and 
Gulf  States.  Railroads  penetrating  our  land  throughout  its  whole 
extent,  our  rivers  and  lakes  improved  and  united,  ocean  brought 
to  ocean,  the  East  to  the  West  and  the  South  to  both,  the  strong 
cords  of  social  and  commercial  intercourse  will  be  stronger  bonds 
of  Union  than  all  the  constitutions  man  ever  framed.  Rome  main- 
tained her  supremacy  by  means  of  her  public  highways.  They 
extended  from  the  city  a  distance  of  four  thousand  Roman  miles. 
They  reached  to  her  remotest  frontier,  established  her  supremacy, 
and  floated  her  imperial  eagle  over  one  hundred  and  twenty  mil- 
lions of  subject  people.  They  united  to  herself,  as  to  a  common 
centre,  all  the  distant  parts  of  universal  Empire. 

In  the  consideration  of  these  great  measures,  there  is  no  propri- 
ety in  any  appeal  to  sectional  prejudice ;  for,  if  heretofore  the  con- 
struction of  a  ship-canal  from  the  Illinois  river  to  Lake  Michigan 
may  have  been  considered  not  as  a  national  work,  and  therefore 
not  a  proper  subject  for  appropriations  from  the  Federal  Treasury, 
that  objection  no  longer  exists. 

I  would  not  say  a  word  in  disparagement  of  the  patriotism  and 
valor  of  the  Eastern  or  Middle  States,  for  in  every  battle  of  the 
present  war  they  have  fought  with  more  than  Roman  heroism,  and 
not  only  in  victory,  but  in  the  face  of  defeat  and  fearful  slaughter, 
stormed  the  most  impregnable  batteries,  never  giving  an  inch  or 
yielding  ground  till  the  order  to  retreat  was  given.  At  the  same 
time,  all  will  admit  that  the  North- West  has  also  come  up  nobly  to 
the  support  of  the  war  and  the  Government.  Covered  all  over  with 
glory,  resplendent  with  the  lustre  of  the  achievements  of  her  sons 
on  so  many  glorious  battle-fields,  and  still  ready  to  pour  out  the 
last  drop  of  her  blood,  and  to  exhaust  the  last  cent  of  her  treasure 
to  restore  the  Union  and  to  save  from  destruction  of  traitor  hands 
this  last  hope  of  humanity,  and  this  beautiful  temple  of  human 
freedom,  she  now  trusts  and  believes,  and  this  Convention  is  assur- 
ance of  the  fact,  that  in  the  disbursements  of  Federal  money  for 
military  and  naval  purposes,  the  North-West  will  not  be  denied  the 
small  sum  for  the  object  this  Convention  has  in  view,  essential  in 
time  of  war  for  her  defense,  and  to  the  protection  of  the  whole 
Union. 

Thank  God,  I  have  no  fear  of  disunion.  God  himself  has  writ- 
ten Union  upon  the  face  of  our  country.  Its  lakes  and  rivers,  and 
railroads,  its  whole  configuration,  proclaim  it  the  home  of  one 
people — and  that  people  increasing  in  numbers  and  moving  on  in 
their  mighty  career,  renowned  in  arts,  in  science,  in  arms,  and  pre- 
senting to  mankind  the  example  of  a  government,  happier,  more 
renowned,  glorious  and  free  than  the  history  of  the  world  has  yet 
recorded.  Upon  her  past  history  mighty  memories  rise  and  cluster, 
but  they  are  as  nothing  to  the  visions  of  splendor,  power  and 
grandeur,  which  under  enterprises  like  this,  for  which  you  are 
assembled,  are  to  blazon  the  pathway  of  her  glory  in  the  future. 


137 

From  early  boyhood  to  the  present  hour,  I  have  had  the  bright 
dream  that  God  had  showered  down  his  blessings  upon  this  my 
native  land,  as  the  chosen  theatre  upon  which  civilization,  the  arts 
and  sciences,  Christianity  and  freedom,  should  display  to  mankind 
the  loftiest  achievements  of  a  true  Christian  civilization,  and  the 
proudest  national  glories;  and,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  I  will  con- 
tinue to  believe,  through  all  the  years  of  the  future,  as  long  as  the 
Mississippi  shall  flow,  or  Lake  Michigan  shall  heave  with  surging 
billows,  that  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  from  the  Bay  of  Fun- 
dy  in  the  North  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in  the  South,  we  shall  have 
one  unbroken  Union  of  States,  whose  hundreds  of  millions  of 
people  shall  speak  the  same  language,  live  under  the  same  consti- 
tution, and  high  over  all  shall  float  the  same  flag  of  freedom  and 
National  Union. 

In  conclusion,  trusting  that  a  spirit  of  harmony  may  attend  all 
your  deliberations,  and  that  they  may  conduce  in  the  highest  de- 
gree to  the 'noble  and  useful  objects  at  which  they  aim, 
I  am,  gentlemen,  your  obedient  servant, 

RICHARD  YATES. 

To  JAMES  ROBB,  Esq.,  Hon.  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  and  others,  Committee. 


FROM  HON.  JUSTIN  F.  MORRILL, 

A  Member  of  (he  ffouse  o/ Representatives  from  Vermont. 

STAFFORD,  VT.,  May  25,  1863. 

DEAR  SIR: — Until  recently  I  have  expected  to  be  present,  by 
your  invitation,  at  the  Ship-Canal  Convention,  but  at  this  moment, 
though  still  proposing  a  Western  journey,  I  find  some  business 
engagements  will  retard  my  departure,  so  that  I  may  not  reach 
Chicago  until  some  days  after  the  2nd  proximo. 

The  importance  of  a  great  canal — greater  than  we  yet  possess — 
between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Lakes,  will  hardly  be  questioned 
in  any  quarter,  and  is  obviously  on  a  par  with  that  connecting  the 
Lakes  with  the  Atlantic.  It  is  a  link  in  the  magnificent  American 
chain  of  water-communications — coast,  lake,  river,  and  canal — 
circling  more  than  half  the  States,  and  draining — therefore,  hardly 
less  useful — most  of  the  remainder,  and  its  perfection  will  not  be 
and  ought  not  to  be  abandoned,  nor  long  postponed.  Our  annual 
experience  shows  the  existing  means  of  water-transit  across  our 
northern  borders  are  inadequate.  The  recent  enlargement  of  the 
New  York  and  Erie  canal  is  such  a  financial  success  that  it  maybe 
reasonably  expected  to  assure  a  further  and  sufficient  enlargement 
for  any  probable  requirements.  But  the  Illinois  portion  of  the 
great  business-channel  exhibits  the  greatest  inadequacy,  involves 
the  largest  expenditure,  and  merits  the  earliest  consideration. 

Those  in  favor  of  developing  the  vast  dormant  land-capital  of  the 
Western  States,  of  increasing  the  value  of  labor,  and  of  unfolding 
and  securing  the  power  of  the  United  States,  have  often  eloquently 


138 

portrayed  the  value  of  the  contemplated  improvements,  and  their 
arguments  cannot  be  bettered  by  repetition. 

The  New  York  and  Erie  canal  has  not  only  been  productive  on 
the  capital  invested,  but  has  created  much  wealth  beyond  its  local 
limits — fertilizing  the  sources  of  its  business  quite  as  extensively 
as  its  debouchure,  where  it  discharges  its  overflowing  commodities, 
and  inundates  the  great  marts  of  the  world. 

The  natural  vent  of  the  Lakes,  the  St.  Lawrence,  runs  too  near 
polar  ice,  as  well  as  through  a  foreign  land.  Commerce  and  travel 
required  a  more  direct  and  feasible  outlet,  and  found  it  through  the 
colossal  enterprise  of  DeWitt  Clinton.  In  the  absence  of  this,  many 
of  the  now  thrifty  denizens  of  the  West  would  have  been  too  poor 
to  have  reached  their  homes  in  the  New  World,  or  would  have 
been  lost  in  Canadian  forests ;  and  they  must,  therefore,  have 
remained  in  other  hands,  or  hung  like  drift-wood  on  the  shores 
wherever  landed. 

The  utterance  of  truth  only  reveals  the  magnitude  of  such  works. 
The  still  small  waters,  under  the  guidance  of  skillful  engineers,  are 
potent  in  turning  the  business  of  the  world  into  its  most  stirring 
and  lucrative  channels. 

A  glance  at  the  map  discloses  the  fact  that  the  proposed  ship- 
canal,  compared  with  the  New  York  canal,  and  with  an  equally 
unfailing  capacity,  will  attract  the  commerce  of  a  territory  not 
inferior  in  extent  nor  less  abundant  in  its  productions.  No  more 
need  be  asked.  These  productions,  though  now  mainly  pastoral 
and  agricultural,  may  be  expected,  at  a  very  early  day,  through  the 
aid  exuberant  coal  has  supplied  for  cheap  steam  power,  to  assume 
all  the  forms  of  diversified  manufactures,  and  thus  concentrate, 
perhaps,  a  denser  population  than  will  then  be  found  elsewhere  upon 
the  American  continent. 

The  work  is  bound  to  succeed.  If  only  private  enterprise  em- 
barks the  capital  required,  it  will  go  on  to  substantial  completion, 
and  being  thus  most  economically  managed,  will  take  rank  among 
the  solid  dividend-paying  stocks. 

The  work  is  bound  to  succeed.  If  the  State  of  Illinois  alone 
should  take  charge  of  the  work,  who  would  doubt  it?  Her  re- 
sources are  ample,  and  the  ultimate  return  with  gain  is  nearly  if 
not  quite  absolute. 

The  work  is  bound  to  succeed.  For  the  day  will  soon  come,  I 
am  persuaded,  when  the  Federal  Government,  without  peril  to  its 
own  vitality,  will  be  able  to  devote  some  share  of  its  large  resources 
to  an  object  of  conceded  national  importance.  If  the  work  to  be 
done  is  great,  the  want  of  it  is  equally  great  and  ever  increasing. 
Even  had  the  passage  to  be  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  I  should  look 
for  its  accomplishment.  It  is  but  the  removal  of  earth,  and  requires 
the  spade. 

I  have  often  seen  portions  of  the  prairies  of  the  West,  and 
always  with  increasing  admiration.  Large  numbers  of  people  have 
removed  thither  from  this  section  of  the  country,  and  like  other 
Eastern  points,  transferred  to  a  more  fertile  soil,  I  know  their 


139 

dimensions  always  expand.  I  shall  ever  hail  with  joy  whatever 
contributes  to  the  the  improvement  of  any  portion  of  our  country 
or  its  people,  and  especially  of  the  West,  ''for  we  be  brethren. 

I   regret  that  I  cannot  be  present  on  an  occasion  of  so  much 
interest. 

Very  truly  yours, 

.    JUSTIN  S.  MORRILL. 
Messrs.  JAMES  KOBB,  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  and  others,  Committee,  Chicago,  111. 


FROM  HON.  W.  A.  RICHARDSON, 

A  Senator  of  the  United  States  from  Illinois. 

QUINCY,  ILL.,  May  16,  1863. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  I  am  in  receipt  of  yours  of  the  14th.  I  fear  it 
will  be  impossible  for  me  to  be  at  Chicago  on  the  2nd  of  June. 
Mrs.  Richardson  is  very  ill,  so  much  so  that  I  cannot  leave  her 
bed-side  only  for  a  few  hours  at  a  time.  While  I  hope  for  her  res- 
toration to  health,  I  cannot  hope  such  improvement  as  will  enable 
me  to  leave  her  by  that  time.  I  will  only  add  that  I  regard  the 
construction  of  a  ship-canal  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Mississippi  river, 
as  equal  in  importance  to  the  whole  country,  either  in  war  or  peace, 
to  any  that  has  ever  been  proposed  on  the  continent.  I  regret 
that  I  cannot  hope  to  be  with  you  at  the  time  proposed. 

I  am  truly, 

W.  A.  RICHARDSON. 


FROM  HON.  S.  C.  FESSENDEN, 

A  Representative  in  Congress  from  Maine, 

ROCKLAND,  ME.,  May  20,  1863. 

Messrs.  JAMES  ROBB,  Esq.,   Hon.  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  and  gentlemen 
of  the  Committee  on  Invitations : 

It  is  with  pleasure  I  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  note  of 
April  16th,  inviting  me  to  be  present  nt  a  National  Convention  to 
be  held  in  Chicago  on  the  2nd  day  of  June  next,  for  the  purpose  of 
considering  the  importance  of  enlarging  the  canals  between  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic,  with  the  view  of  increasing  their  effi- 
ciency as  national,  commercial  and  military  works,  and  as  tending 
to  promote  the  development,  prosperity  and  unity  of  the  whole 
country. 

I  regret  my  inability,  arising  from  business  engagements,  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention. 

May  I  be  permitted  to  add — the  Convention  cannot  even  esti- 
mate the  importance,  in  my  opinion,  of  the  object  which  it  has  in 
view.  During  the  session  of  the  37th  Congress,  of  which  I  had 
the  honor  of  being  a  member,  I  gave  this  subject  no  little  atten- 
tion ;  and,  as  the  results  of  my  investigations,  I  was  convinced, 


140 

that  such  was  its  relation  to  the  material  interests  of  the  nation, 
in  any  point  of  view,  that,  could  the  people  but  have  the  light 
which  already  it  is  in  the  power  of  facts  to  give  them,  they  would 
be  absolutely  importunate,  until  the  object  is  accomplished.  Con- 
seqently  the  "  Act  to  construct  a  ship-canal  for  the  passage  of 
armed  and  naval  vessels  from  the  Mississippi  river  to  Lake  Michi- 
gan, and  for  the  enlargement  of  the  locks  of  the  Erie  canal  and 
the  Oswego  canal  of  New  York,  to  adapt  them  to  the  defense  of 
the  Northern  Lakes,"  had  my  early  and  most  earnest  support ; 
and  no  man  more  deeply  regretted  its  failure  to  pass  the  House 
than  myself. 

It  is  my  hope,  therefore,  that  the  Convention  will  lay  the  facts 
before  the  people,  and  I  predict  such  measures,  as  the  result  of 
this  course,  as  will  speedily  accomplish  the  work — a  work  which 
will  so  greatly  augment  the  prosperity,  and  contribute  to  the  unity 
of  the  country,  that  its  projectors  will  be  remembered  amongst 
their  country's  benefactors. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  very  respectfully, 

Tour  ob't  serv't, 

SAM'L  C.  FESSENDEN. 


FROM  HON.  J.  M.  EDMUNDS, 

Commviwiotwr  of  the  General  Land  Office. 

DETROIT,  MICHIGAN,  May  26,  1863. 

Hon.  I.  N.  ARNOLD.  Sir:  I  have  to  thank  you  for  the  circular 
of  invitation  to  the  National  Canal  Enlargement  Convention,  to  be 
held  at  Chicago  on  the  2nd  of  June  next.  Prior  engagements  are 
likely  to  prevent  my  compliance  with  your  request;  but  neither  the 
presence  nor  absence  of  any  individual  can  materially  affect  the 
onward  progress  of  the  great  measure  you  have  under  considera- 
tion. 

The  military,  commercial,  and  agricultural  necessities,  and  the 
interests  of  the  country,  alike  demand  the  speedy  completion  of 
the  contemplated  improvement.  When  the  Pacific  railroad  shall 
have  stretched  its  iron  ligaments  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Sacra- 
mento, and  the  flood  of  commerce  and  travel  which  must  seek  this 
route  from  Eastern  Asia  and  Western  Europe,  shall  meet  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  the  vast  products  and  population  of  that 
region,  the  present  facilities  of  movement  will  be  literally  blocked 
up — suffocated,  so  to  speak. 

The  great  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi  combined,  can  alone  afford 
relief,  and  their  waters  must  be  made  to  commingle  by  a  channel 
that  can  bear,  without  hindrance,  the  naval  and  commercial  ma- 
rine of  the  country,  and  the  moving  masses  of  people  residing  upon 
their  shores  and  borders.  And  it  is  of  equal  importance  that  these 
facilities  be  extended  to  the  Atlantic,  within  the  territorial  limits 
of  the  great  Republic. 

When  the  power  of  this  nation  shall  be  vindicated,  and  its  per- 


141 

• 

petuity  secured,  by  the  complete  suppression  of  the  existing  infk- 
mous  rebellion,  as  soon  will  be  the  case,  we  shall  as  a  people  enter 
upon  a  career  of  enterprise,  prosperity,  and  grandeur,  never  before 
witnessed.  Wealth,  population,  and  power  will  flow  in  upon  us 
from  every  point  of  the  compass.  Our  railroads,  rivers,  lakes, 
mines,  plains,  and  forests,  all  will  be  made  to  contribute  to  our 
greatness,  and  facilities  for  the  movement  of  property  and  people 
will  be  demanded  faster  than  they  can  be  constructed.  San  Fran- 
cisco, St.  Louis,  New  Orleans,  Pittsburgh,  Chicago,  Detroit,  Buf- 
falo, New  York,  and  intermediate  localities,  will  become  the  points 
of  distribution  for  the  congregated  wealth  and  population  of  the 
country,  and  will  grow  with  its  developments. 

They  must  be  connected  by  ample  facilities  of  transportation 
and  travel.  I  have  neither  time  nor  space  to  allude  to  the  econom- 
ical advantages  of  your  projected  improvement.  These  are  appa- 
rent, and  may  be  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  You  must 
persevere,  and  you  will  certainly  achieve  success,  to  which  1  will 
gladly  contribute,  to  the  extent  of  my  power  and  ability. 
With  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  M.  EDMUNDS. 


FROM  HON.  D.  DAVIS, 

One  of  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

INDIANAPOLIS,  May  27,  1863. 
Messrs.  JAMES  ROBB,  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  F.  C.  SHERMAN,  and  others, 

Committee  on  Invitations : 

GENTLEMEN: — I  regret  exceedingly  that  my  judicial  duties  will 
deprive  me  of  the  pleasure  of  meeting  with  you  on  next  Tuesday. 
I  feel  a  deep  solicitude  for  the  success  of  the  Convention.     It 
cannot  fail  to  enlighten  the  public  mind  ;   and,  if  it  shall  be  the 
means  of  awakening  a  general  interest  on  the  subject  for  which 
it  is  convened,  it  will  have  accomplished  a  great  result. 
With  high  respect,  yours  most  truly, 

D.  DAVIS. 


FROM   COL.    S.   H.   LONG, 

Chief  of  the  Bivreau  of  U.  8.  Topographical  Engineers,  who,  for  many  years,  was  personally 
in  charge  of  the  Ctovernment  Surveys  of  the  Western  Rivers. 

WASHINGTON,  May  20,  1863. 

To  Gen.  Jos.  G.   TOTTEN,  and  others,  delegates  to  the  Chicago 

Canal  Convention : 

GENTLEMEN  : — Finding  it  very  inconvenient,  and  even  quite  im- 
practicable, to  meet  you  as  a  member  of  the  Convention,  I  beg  leave 
to  submit  my  views  in  relation  to  the  contemplated  ship-canal, 
which  may  throw  useful  light  on  the  topics  of  inquiry  likely  to 
occupy  your  attention. 


In  the  month  of  October,  1816,  I  first  visited  Chicago,  by  a 
route  from  St.  Louis,  leading  through  a  savage  and  roadless  wil- 
derness, via  Fort  Clark  and  the  valley  of  the  Illinois  river,  to  Lake 
Michigan. 

At  that  time,  the  Chicago  river  discharged  itself  into  the  lake 
over  a  bar  of  sand  and  gravel,  in  a  rippling  stream,  ten  to  fifteen 
yards  wide,  and  only  a  few  inches  deep. 

About  ten  miles  southerly  of  Chicago,  the  Little  Calumet  entered 
the  lake,  over  a  similar  bar,  but  in  a  broader,  deeper,  and  much 
more  copious  stream. 

Near  the  southerly  extremity  of  the  lake,  the  Grand  Calumet 
enters  the  latter ;  but  at  the  time  of  my  first  visit,  its  mouth  was 
effectually  blocked  up  by  a  high  and  dry  sand-bar. 

It  will  hereafter  be  shown,  that  the  waters  of  both  Calumets  are 
sometimes  discharged  into  the  lake  through  the  mouth  of  one,  and 
at  other  times  through  the  mouth  of  the  other.  It  is  also  said  that, 
in  wet  seasons,  a  part  of  their  waters  is  discharged  into  the  Des- 
Plaines  river. 

In  June,  1823, 1  again  visited  the  localities  just  mentioned;  the 
country  still  destitute  of  permanent  settlement  or  improvements. 
At  this  time  the  discharge  from  the  Chicago  river  was  similar  to 
what  it  was  before,  while  the  discharge  from  the  two  Calumets 
was  materially  changed ;  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Calumet  being 
blocked  up  by  a  dry  sand-bar,  and  the  discharge  of  both  being 
through  the  mouth  of  the  Grand  Calumet. 

In  the  same  year  and  month,  I  ascended  in  a  perogue,  by  way  of 
Chicago  river  and  its  southerly  branch,  to  Mud  Lake,  which  dis- 
charges itself  in  two  directions ;  in  one  direction  into  Lake  Michi- 
gan, and  in  the  other,  into  the  river  Des-Plaines. 

In  connection  with  the  subject  of  the  proposed  ship-canal,  there 
are  certain  considerations  worthy  of  particular  attention.  At  a 
short  distance  inland  from  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Calumet,  are 
two  considerable  ponds  or  lakes,  said  to  be  deep  and  navigable. 
These  may  be  converted  into  basins  or  ports,  rendered  accessible 
by  suitable  connections  with  the  proposed  canal,  and  affording 
ample  accommodations  for  shipping.  Moreover,  the  Little  Calu- 
met is  probably  quite  as  deep  and  navigable  as  the  Chicago  river, 
and  to  an  extent  considerably  greater  than  that  of  the  latter. 

The  broad  and  extensive  plain  of  the  Chicago  (Che-Kan-Ko, 
Wild  Onion),  is  altogether  diluvial,  and  is  generally  diversified  by 
fiat  prairie,  sand-ridges  covered  with  a  woodland  growth,  swamps, 
slashes,  sluggish  streams,  stagnant  pools,  etc.  The  sand-ridges, 
hills,  and  knobs,  rise  from  a  few  feet  to  ten,  twenty,  and  in  some 
instances  thirty  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  plain,  and  are  gene- 
rally covered  with  a  stinted  growth  of  oaks,  bushes,  vines,  and 
furze. 

Besides  the  streams  already  mentioned,  the  plain  is  intersected 
by  numerous  others  of  less  magnitude,  and  with  equally  sluggish 
currents,  in  all  possible  directions. 

The  entire  plain  ia  no  doubt  underlaid  by  an  extensive  bed  of 


143 

solid  rock  (limestone  and  sandstone),  at  depths  of  only  a  few  feet 
below  its  common  surface. 

At  the  distance  of  about  thirty-four  miles  from  the  lake-shore, 
the  Des-Plaines  assumes  a  more  lively  current,  and  descends  by 
gentle  slopes  to  its  junction  with  the  Kankakee,  or  head  of  the 
Illinois  river.  From  this  point,  the  Illinois  descends  with  greater 
rapidity,  passing  occasional  rapids  of  greater  or  less  extent,  till  it 
reaches  LaSalle  or  Peru,  where  it  becomes  a  sluggish  stream,  and 
continues  so  quite  to  its  mouth. 

In  September,  1816,  I  ascended  the  Illinois  to  the  head  of  Lake 
Peoria  in  a  small  keel-boat,  and  literally  passed  through  extensive 
fields  of  wild  rice,  springing  from  the  riverbed  and  rising  virtually 
several  feet  above  the  water- surface,  the  current  being  too  slug- 
gish to  sway  down  the  straws.  The  river  continued  in  a  similar 
condition  till  the  frequent  passage  of  steamboats  prevented  the 
upward  growth  of  the  rice. 

It  is  deemed  pertinent  in  this  place,  to  introduce  a  variety  of 
results  derived  from  the  surveys  for  the  Michigan  and  Illinois  ca- 
nal, made  in  1830-31,  under  the  direction  of  the  late  Dr.  William 
Howard,  then  Civil  Engineer  in  the  employ  of  the  Topographical 
Bureau. 

The  survey  was  commenced  at  a  point  on  the  southerly  branch 
of  the  Chicago  river,  about  five  miles  from  the  lake-shore  by  the 
meanderings  of  the  stream.  Running  thence  in  a  southerly  direc- 
tion, and  a  few  feet  only  (3  to  10  feet)  above  the  surface  of  Lake 
Michigan,  it  entered  the  river  Des-Plaines  at  a  distance  of  twenty- 
nine  miles  from  the  place  of  beginning,  or  thirty-four  miles  from 
the  lake-shore.  The  greatest  elevation  of  ground  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  lake,  on  the  line  surveyed,  was  only  about  fourteen 
feet,  and  that  only  at  a  single  point;  indeed, the  general  surface  of 
the  spacious  plain  has  an  average  height  of  only  about  ten  feet 
above  the  lake. 

The  rock  stratum  underlying  the  Chicago  plain,  has  a  depth  of 
three  to  eight  or  ten  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  as  deter- 
mined by  frequent  borings  along  the  line  surveyed. 

The  survey  of  a  line  about  eighteen  miles  long,  for  a  feeder, 
intended  to  connect  the  Little  Calumet  with  the  main  canal  in  the 
valley  of  the  Des-Plaines,  indicates  that  the  surface  of  the  ground 
traversed  by  it,  has  about  the  same  elevation  as  that  traversed  by 
the  canal-line. 

At  the  distance  of  thirty-four  miles  from  the  lake,  the  surface 
of  the  Des-Plaines  becomes  co-incident  with  that  of  the  lake,  and 
at  the  point  just  indicated,  the  Des-Plaines  begins  to  fall  below  the 
lake-level,  and  continues  to  descend  thence  to  its  junction  with  the 
Kankakee,  and  thence  with  the  Illinois  river  to  La  Salle,  or  the 
lower  terminus  of  the  present  canal.  The  distance  from  the  point 
mentioned,  to  La  Salle,  is  sixty-seven  miles,  and  the  aggregate  fall 
in  this  distance  is  137^  feet,  or  a  little  more  than  two  feet  per  mile, 
making  the  entire  distance  from  the  lake-shore  to  La  Salle,  about 
101  mileq,  and  the  aggregate  fall  below  the  lake-surface,  137^  feet 
as  before. 


144 

From  La  Salle,  downward  to  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois,  the  dis- 
tance is  computed  at  220  miles ;  and  throughout  this  distance  the 
river  current  is  remarkably  sluggish,  the  aggregate  fall  being  rep- 
resented as  twenty-six  feet  only,  or,  on  an  average,  less  than  one  and 
one-half  inches  per  mile.  Hence,  it  is  obvious  that  a  comparatively 
moderate  supply  of  water  from  the  lake  in  low  stages,  will  con- 
tribute to  render  this  portion  of  the  river  quite  as  navigable  as  the 
Mississippi,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  to  Cairo,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio,  in  similar  stages. 

In  that  portion  of  the  Illinois  last  considered,  there  are  occa- 
sional hard  bars,  across  which  the  channels  are  narrow  and  crooked, 
and  will  require  enlargement  and  straightening.  The  channels 
across  the  low-water  bars  of  the  Mississippi  will  also  require  to  be 
made  wider  and  deeper.  This  may  be  effected,  in  both  cases,  by 
the  use  of  scrapers,  similar  to  those  successfully  employed  in  open- 
ing and  keeping  open  the  channel  across  the  formidable  and  indu- 
rated bar  at  the  South-west  Pass  of  the  Mississippi. 

I  now  conclude  my  remarks  with  a  few  observations  and  sug- 
gestions in  reference  to  an  open  and  through-cut  ship-canal,  from 
Lake  Michigan  to  the  Des-Plaines  river. 

1.  The  elevation  of  the  summit-pool  of  the  present  canal,  is 
eight  feet  above  the  surface  of  Lake  Michigan, 

With  regard  to  its  enlargement  to  the  dimensions  required  for  a 
ship-canal,  it  is  proper  to  observe,  that  its  trade  is  now  and  has 
been  for  several  years  past,  of  too  much  value  and  importance  to 
justify  its  suspension,  during  the  period  required  for  the  construc- 
tion of  the  contemplated  through-cut  canal.  Moreover,  its  enlarge- 
ment would  render  unavoidable  the  destruction  of  a  vast  amount 
of  valuable  property,  situated  on  both  sides  of  the  canal. 

2.  One  of  the  main  objects  in  view,  is  the  conversion  of  Lake 
Michigan  (Miche-Sagahegan,  Big  Lake),  into  a  grand  reservoir, 
to   supply  not  only  the  canal,  but  the  Illinois  river,  with  water 
enough  to  render   them    both  navigable  at  all   times  when  not 
obstructed  by  ice.     Of  course,  the  summit-pool  must  extend  from 
the   lake,  through  a  distance  about  equal  to  that  from  the  lake  to 
Lockport,  viz.,  about  thirty-four  miles. 

The  depth  of  water  in  the  ship-canal  should  be  at  least  eight 
feet ;  its  width  one  hundred  feet,  with  passing  places  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  wide,  and  one  mile  apart.  The  declivity  of  the  canal- 
bottom  should  be  about  two  inches  per  mile,  from  the  lake  to  the 
Des-Plaines  river. 

3u  The  lock-chamber  at  the  westerly  end  of  the  pool,  and  at 
all  other  points  below,  should  have  a  width  of  about  60  feet;  a 
length  of  220  feet,  and  a  lift  varying  from  four  to  ten  or  twelve  feet. 
The  upper  lock  should  be  accompanied  by  spacious  waste-wiers  or 
gates,  perhaps  both,  sufficiently  large  to  supply  the  requisite  lock- 
age-water, and  an  additional  volume  of  surplus  water  sufficient  to 
render  the  Illinois  navigable  from  La  Salle  to  the  Mississippi. 

4.  The  sides  of  the  canal,  especially  of  the  summit-pool,  should 
be  revetted  with  substantial  stone-walls,  resting  on  the  surface 


145 

of  the  rocky  substratum  of  the  plain,  which  rises  from  beneath 
the  lake-surface,  to  the  height  of  nine  or  ten  feet  above  the  same, 
and  through  which  the  prism  of  the  canal  must  be  excavated ;  the 
excavations  thus  formed,  will  afford  ample  materials  for  the  walls. 

5.  In  connection  with  the  summit-pool,  there  should  be  one  or 
more  spacious  inland  basins  or  ports,  large  enough  to  accommo- 
date the  shipping  employed  in  the  lake-trade,  and  for  various  other 
purposes. 

6.  An  artificial  harbor,  like  that  at  Chicago,  may  be  formed 
at   almost  any  point  on  the  southerly  coast  of  the  lake,  and  an 
entrance  to   it  may  be  opened  across  the  lake  beach,  by  sinking 
parallel  piers  and  removing  the  sand  and  gravel  from  between  them 
by  dredging.     This  mode  of  forming  an  entrance,  as  I  believe,  was 
first  proposed  by  me  in  1816. 

In  view  of  the  rapid  growth,  and  rapidly  increasing  trade  of 
Chicago,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  the  lapse  of  a  few  years, 
one  or  more  additional  harbors,  for  the  accommodation  of  its  com- 
mercial transactions  will  be  required,  at  Chicago. 

7.  It  is  believed  that  a  route  quite  as  eligible  for  a  canal,  as 
that  pursued  by  the  present  canal,  and  passing  over  ground  equally 
as  favorable,  if  not  more  so,  may  be  discovered  and  adopted  as  the 
route  for  the  proposed  ship-canal. 

8.  With  regard  to  the  proposed  depth  of  the  canal,  it  is  un- 
doubtedly true  that  no  vessel  or  other  craft,  drawing  more  than 
six  feet  of  water,  can  navigate  the  Mississippi,  between  the  mouth 
of  the  Illinois  and  Cairo,  more  than  six    months  in  each   year. 
Hence,  although  a  greater  depth  may  seem  desirable,  on  many 
accounts,  yet,  in  this  case,  it  would  be  likely  to  prove  useless. 

9.  Whatever   craft  is   employed  in  navigating   the   canal,  it 
should  be  driven  by  propellers,  of  suitable  construction,  in  order 
to  prevent  abrasions  on  the  earthy  sides  of  the  canal. 

10.  The  lake  being  regarded   as   a  reservoir,  the  canal  will 
serve  not  only  as  a  channel  of  trade,  but  as  a  feeder  to  supply  both 
the  canal,  and  the  Illinois  below  the  canal,  with  the  requisite  quan- 
tity of  water  to  render  both  navigable  at  ail  times.     Hence,  the 
waste-wiers  at  the  locks,  and  especially  at  that  connected  with  the 
summit-pool,  should    be   constructed  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
quantity  of  water  passed  by  them  may  be  increased  or  diminished, 
according  to  the  exigences  of  the  river  below  the'  canal. 

11.  The  selection  of  a  route  most  commodious  and  favorable 
in  all  respects  should  be   preceded  by,  and  based   upon   careful, 
thorough  and  judicious  surveys,  executed  by  experienced  and  skill- 
ful engineers;  economy  of  construction  as  well  as  facility  and  dis- 
patch of  transportation,  being  the  leading  objects  kept  in  view. 

Respectfully,  gentlemen,  your  obt.  servt., 

S.  H.  LONG,  Col.  U.  S.  Engrs. 
10 


FROM  HON.  EDWARD  EVERETT, 

Late  a  Senator  of  the  United  States,  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Great  Britain. 

BOSTON,  16th  May,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN  : — I  received,  a  short  time  since,  a  copy  of  your 
invitation  to  the  National  Convention,  to  be  held  at  Chicago  on 
the  2nd  of  June,  to  consider  the  importance  of  enlarging  the  canals 
between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic.  It  will  not  be  in  my 
power  to  attend  the  proposed  meeting,  but  it  gives  me  great 
pleasure,  in  compliance  with  your  request,  to  express  the  most 
favorable  opinion  of  the  enterprise  in  question. 

I  had  the  good  fortune  last  year  to  go  over  the  greater  part  of 
the  ground  traversed  by  the  proposed  enlarged  line  of  communi- 
cation, and  to  form,  from  personal  observation,  a  distinct  idea, 
both  of  its  practicability  and  importance.  I  know  of  no  public 
work,  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  at  all  comparable  in 
importance  with  a  communication  like  that  proposed  between  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Mississippi.  The  resources  of  the  West  are 
boundless,  and  still  in  the  infancy  of  their  development ; — nature 
has  formed  the  two  great  sections  of  the  country,  East  and  West, 
for  the  most  intimate  and  mutually  beneficial  relations  with  each 
other.  Much  has  already  been  done  to  open  those  pathways,  to 
which  the  hand  of  the  Almighty  Engineer  has  pointed  the  way, 
and  nothing  is  wanted  to  complete  the  work,  but  an  appropriation 
of  the  resources  of  the  country,  which,  with  reference  to  the  im- 
portance of  the  objects  to  be  promoted,  ought  not,  however  con- 
siderable in  itself,  to  occasion  a  moment's  hesitation. 

With  cordial  wishes  for  a  harmonious  and  successful  meeting, 
I  remain,  gentlemen,  your  friend  and  fellow  citizen, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 

Messrs.  JAMES  ROBB,  J.  W.  SMITH,  GEO.  SCHNEIDER,  and  others,  whose  names 
are  subscribed  to  the  invitation. 


FROM  HON.  J.  M.  HOWARD, 

A  Senator  of  the  United  States  from  the  State  of  Michigan. 

DETROIT,  May  30,  1863. 

MY  DEAR  SIR! — I  much  regret  that  in  consequence  of  profes- 
sional and  other  engagements,  I  shall  be  unable  to  attend  the  Con- 
vention which  is  to  meet  in  Chicago  on  the  1st  proximo,  to  pro- 
mote the  great  cause  of  the  enlargement  of  the  canals  between 
the  Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic.  I  beg,  however,  to  assure  you 
that  no  one  can  be  more  sensible  of  the  great  national  importance 
of  the  project,  or  more  alive  to  the  benign  policy  of  knitting 
together  the  East  and  the  West  by  the  ties  of  mutual  interest.  Be- 
fore God  and  the  world  we  have  pledged  ourselves  to  be  not  merely 
one  people,  but  a  united  people ;  and  unless  we  are  blind  to  our 
own  interests,  and  recreant  to  the  principles,  the  promises  and  the 
fame  of  our  ancestors,  we  shall  keep  that  pledge  good.  I  beg  to 


147 

assure  the  Convention,  that  whatever  the  constitution  and  the 
state  of  the  country  permit  to  be  done  in  furtherance  of  this  great 
object,  will  not  fail  to  receive  my  earnest  and  cordial  countenance 
and  support,  whether  in  a  public  or  a  private  capacity. 

I  remain  very  truly  and  sincerely  your  friend  and  ob't  serv't, 

J.  M.  HOWARD. 
Hon.  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  Chicago. 


FROM  J.  A.  HAMILTON,  ESQ., 

The  surviving  Son  of  Alexander  Hamilton. 

NEVIS,  DOBBS  FERRY  P.  O.,  May  19,  1863. 

To  the  Hon.  JAMES  ROBB  and  others,   Committee  on  Invitations, 
Chicago : 

GENTLEMEN — I  received  t/>-day  your  invitation  to  attend  the 
Convention  to  be  held  at  Chicago  on  the  2nd  day  of  June  next, 
which  I  accept  with  much  pleasure. 

I  have  a  grateful  recollection  of  the  attentions  I  received  in 
your  city,  when,  a  score  of  years  ago,  I  attended  a  convention 
there  on  a  kindred  subject.  At  my  advanced  period  of  life  it  is 
presumptuous  to  say  I  will  make  so  long  a  journey ;  but  I  will 
attempt  it.  Next  to  crushing  out  this  wicked  rebellion,  nothing  is 
so  near  my  heart  as  this  patriotic  effort  "  to  promote  the  develop- 
ment, prosperity  and  unity  of  our  whole  country." 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  ob't  serv't, 

JAMES  A.  HAMILTON. 


FROM  HON.  T.  O.  HOWE, 

A  Senator  of  the  United  States,  from  Wisconsin. 

GKEEN  BAY,  May  29,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN: — I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  note  of 
the  29th  April,  inviting  me  to  attend  a  Convention,  to  be  assembled 
at  Chicago,  on  the  2nd  of  June  next,  to  consider  the  project  of 
enlarging  the  "  canals  between  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Atlantic." 

I  have  delayed  reply  to  that  note,  up  to  this  time,  in  hope  oi 
finding  myself  able  to  accept  your  invitation. 

Now,  to  my  regret,  I  am  obliged  to  say,  I  shall  not  be  able  to 
visit  Chicago  upon  that  occasion. 

Let  not  my  enforced  absence  be  thought  to  evidence  any  want  of 
sympathy  for  the  great  objects  which  will  engage  your  attention. 

Whether  I  regard  the  military  or  the  commercial  aspects  of  the 
measures  proposed,  I  hold  them  to  be  eminently  national,  and 
eminently  sagacious. 

It  has  been  denied^  that  the  enlargement  of  these  channels  has 
any  importance  in  a  military  point  of  view.  I  fear  such  denials 
are  made  upon  a  very  imperfect  consideration  of  the  subject. 


148 

The  extent  of  our  coast  upon  the  Lakes  is  nearly  equal  to  that 
upon  the  Atlantic.  I  affirm,  that,  to-day,  it  is  of  vastly  more 
importance  to  the  nation.  Along  the  Atlantic  coast  are  found 
the  entrepots  for  our  foreign  imports.  These,  for  the  most  part, 
consist  of  the  luxuries  of  the  nation — of  articles  which  we  ought 
to  pi'oduce  at  home,  or  ought  to  go  without. 

Along  the  Lakes  flows  the  food  of  the  nation;  without  which  it 
could  not  live.  The  lake-coast  is  as  accessible  to  the  fleets  of  one 
foreign  power,  and  that  the  greatest,  in  a  maratime  point  of  view, 
as  the  Atlantic  coast.  To  defend  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  its  com- 
merce, our  government  expended,  before  this  war  commenced,  on 
fortifications  and. on  naval  armament,  not  less  than  fifteen  millions 
annually.  To  defend  the  lake-coast,  and  its  vital  commerce,  we 
have  not  a  single  fortification  worthy  of  the  name;  and  we  have 
not  only  no  naval  armament,  but  we  are  absolutely  prohibited,  by 
treaty  stipulations,  from  maintaining  upon  the  Lakes  more  than  three 
vessels  of  one  hundred  tons  each,  armed  with  not  more  than  one 
eighteen-pound  cannon  each. 

Let  any  man  consider  the  relations  of  this  lake-commerce  to  the 
nation ;  what  New  York  and  New  England  would  be,  if  they  were 
cut  off  from  this  flow  of  food ;  what  the  West  would  be,  if  its 
currents  were  turned  back  upon  itself;  and  he  cannot  fail  to  per- 
ceive that  a  permanent  obstruction  in  this  great  artery  would  be 
as  fatal  to  the  vigor  of  the  nation,  as  a  cord  around  the  neck  would 
be,  to  the  vigor  of  a  man.  The  West  would  suffocate,  the  East 
would  starve. 

Before  the  war,  New  York  thought  she  lived  upon  her  partici- 
pation in  the  annual  export  of  two  hundred  millions  of  cotton. 
Cotton  left  her — left  her  two  hundred  millions  in  debt;  and  she  has 
never  missed  either  the  money  or  the  export. 

A  few  months  ago,  New  York  trembled  before  the  possibility  of 
a  visit  from  the  Merrimac.  She  knows,  to-day,  that  a  few  hostile 
gun-boats,  placed  before  the  harbor  of  Buffalo,  would  be  almost  as 
fatal  to  her  as  the  whole  British  navy  in  her  own  bay. 

It  is  said,  and  said  truly,  that  we  can  abrogate  the  treaty  in  six 
months  ;  whereas,  it  would  require  years  to  open  our  canals  to  the 
admission  of  boats  suited  to  the  purposes  of  naval  defense.  But 
the  abrogation  of  the  treaty  would  not  provide  for  the  emergency. 
The  abrogation  of  the  treaty  would  only  restore  the  right  to  build 
a  navy  upon  the  Lakes,  it  would  not  build  a  navy  there.  To  build 
a  navy  upon  the  Lakes,  equal  to  the  defense  of  this  magnificent  fron- 
tier, and  to  maintain  it  three  years,  would  cost  more  than  is  asked 
to  open  them  to  the  navy  of  the  nation,  and  to  whiten  them  with  the 
commerce  of  the  world. 

The  United  States  have  only  these  three  alternatives  to  choose 
between :  either  the  splendid  empire,  washed  by  these  interior  seas, 
must  remain  utterly  defenseless  against  the  perils  of  foreign  war, 
always  possible;  or,  we  must  open  the  water-channels  connecting 
them  with  the  Mississippi,  or  with  the  Atlantic,  to  the  admission 
of  our  naval  fleet;  or,  we  must  give  notice  of  our  intention  to  do 


149 

so,  and  in  six  months,  commence  to  provide  a  separate  navy  upon 
the  Lakes,  to  be  used  only  in  a  brief  possible  war,  and  to  be  useless 
through  a  long  probable  peace. 

The  first  alternative  is  too  full  of  hazard  to  be  adopted  by  a  peo- 
ple really  independent:  the  last  is  too  costly  to  be  adopted  by  a 
people  truly  economical. 

Unity  of  commerce,  unity  of  coast,  and  unity  of  defense,  will 
secure  the  unity  of  the  Republic,  and  its  absolute  independence. 

But  I  am  free  to  confess,  that,  in  my  own  judgment,  the  com- 
mercial importance  of  the  measures  proposed  is  scarcely  less  than 
their  military  importance.  As  military  measures,  they  will  only 
subserve  the  wants  of  war.  That,  if  we  are  just  in  the  conduct  of 
our  foreign  relations,  and  wise  in  the  administration  of  our  domes- 
tic affairs,  we  may  expect  will  be  the  exception  to  our  national  life. 

As  commercial  measures,  they  will  largely  minister  to  the  wants 
of  peace.  That,  after  a  few  more  months  of  patient  endurance  and 
heroic  endeavor,  we  may  hope  will  be  the  rule  of  our  national  life. 

The  limits  of  a  letter  will  not  permit  me  to  discuss,  or  fairly  to 
present  the  economical  aspects  of  the  measures  proposed.  But  if 
the  national  growth  were  to  be  permanently  arrested  to-day,  and 
the  national  production  were  never  to  exceed  its  present  volume, 
and  if  the  present  product  was  exclusively  agricultural,  and  was 
limited  to  the  two  staples  of  corn  and  wheat,  it  would,  neverthe- 
less, remain  that  one  hundred  million  bushels  of  those  cereals  pass 
over  the  Lakes  annually. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  expenditure  of  three  millions  of  dollars 
will  expedite  and  cheapen  the  movement  of  these  products,  to  the 
extent  of  fifteen  cents  per  bushel. 

It  is  true,  those  commodities  are  mainly  the  product  of  the  States 
termed  North-western,  and  are  mainly  consumed  by  the  States 
termed  North-eastern,  and  by  Europe.  Hence,  it  is  not  unusual  to 
hear  it  said,  that  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  this  expenditure, 
would  be  divided  between  the  producers  and  the  consumers  of 
these  products,  and  so  would  be  sectional  and  not  national  in  their 
influences. 

But  it  should  be  remembered,  that  these  commodities  are,  for 
the  most  part,  consumed  by  the  manufacturing  industry  of  this  and 
other  countries.  They  are  exchanged  for  their  fabrics.  They  have 
a  direct  and  important  influence  upon  the  value  of  those  fabrics. 
And  in  the  value  of  those  fabrics,  every  village,  and  almost  every 
family,  in  the  Union,  has  a  direct  interest.  The  corn  of  Illinois,  and 
the  wheat  of  "Wisconsin,  it  is  true,  never  cross  the  Mississippi,  in 
bulk ;  but  when  transmuted  into  the  fabrics  of  Lowell  and  Birming- 
ham, they  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Whatever  lessens  the 
prime  cost  of  food,  tends  to  lessen  the  prime  cost  of  every  article 
into  which  it  enters.  It  is,  I  think,  the  tendency  of  McCormick's 
reaper,  no  less  than  of  the  Erie  canal,  to  lessen  the  cost  of  cloth  at 
Santa  Fe.  The  effect,  to  be  sure,  is  not  so  perceptible,  but  it  is  as 
actual. 
Hence,  it  is  presumed,  but  few  statesmen  will  be  found  to  deny, 


150 

that  if  the  expenditure  of  three  millions  of  dollars,  upon  the  canal 
between  the  Lakes  and  the  Hudson,  will  send  the  wheat  and  the 
corn  of  the  North- West,  to  their  consumers,  at  an  annual  saving  in 
the  cost  of  transportation,  of  fifteen  millions,  it  is  an  object  of  deep 
interest  to  the  whole  people  of  the  United  States,  and  one  which 
demands  the  recognition  of  this  Government. 

Indeed,  I  doubt  if  any  statesman  of  the  present  time  would 
disown  the  national  character  of  this  work,  but  for  the  fact  that 
the  past  history  of  our  Government,  in  its  relations  to  the  great 
subject  of  internal  improvement,  has  not  been  altogether  satisfac- 
tory to  our  people.  It  has  happened  in  the  history  of  former  ad- 
ministrations and  in  more  profligate  times,  that  the  treasure  of  the 
nation  has  been  employed  to  foster  private  speculations,  and  to 
cherish  objects  mainly  if  not  purely  local  in  their  character. 

Such  abuses  of  the  authority  of  the  Government  over  works  of 
internal  improvement  have  engendered  a  suspicion  in  the  public 
mind  that  the  central  Government  could  not  safely  be  trusted  with 
the  control  of  those  measures,  and  have  led  some  to  deny  that  it 
has  any  authority  over  the  subject  whatever. 

The  enlightened  and  patriotic  gentlemen,  who  will  assemble  at 
Chicago,  will  take  good  care,  by  their  action,  to  give  no  further 
cause  of  complaint  in  that  direction. 

And,  if  it  be  conceded,  that  it  is  of  national  importance  to  im- 
prove the  canals  between  the  Lakes  and  the  Atlantic,  it  surely  must 
be  of  national  importance  to  improve  the  canals  between  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  the  Lakes.  Those  canals  hold  the  same  relation  to  the 
productions  west  of  the  Mississippi,  that  the  Erie  canal  does  to  the 
productions  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 

If  it  is  of  national  utility  to  move  the  latter  from  the  Lakes  to  the 
seaboard  at  the  least  possible  cost,  it  must  be  of  national  utility 
to  move  the  former  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Lakes  at  the  least 
possible  cost.  The  improvement  of  the  Western  canals  is  cer- 
tainly not  as  important  as  the  improvement  of  the  Eastern  ones ; 
but  it  is  certainly  important.  It  may  or  may  not  be  expedient 
for  the  nation  now  to  do  the  work,  but  it  is  unquestionably  impor- 
tant to  the  nation  that  the  work  be  done.  , 

In  this  connection,  gentlemen,  you  will  indulge  me  in  a  single 
observation.  That  is  this:  Whatever  fund  shall  be  expended  by 
the  representatives  of  all  the  States,  justice  would  seem  to  require, 
should  be  so  expended  as  to  preserve,  so  far  as  practicable,  the  pres- 
ent commercial  relations  of  each  of  the  States.  You  will  not  ask 
the  American  Congress  to  re-model  the  geography  of  the  American 
continent. 

There  are  two  water-channels  connecting  the  Mississippi  with  the 
Lakes.  Both  are  commercial  highways.  Both  are  susceptible  of 
improvement.  The  upper  one,  by  way  of  the  Wisconsin  and  Fox 
rivers,  naturally  accommodates  the  commerce  of  Iowa  and  Minne- 
sota. The  lower  one,  by  way  of  the  Illinois  river  and  canal,  natu- 
rally accommodates  the  commerce  of  Missouri.  The  greatest  grain- 
growing  districts  west  of  the  Mississippi  are  found  in  Iowa  and 
Minnesota. 


151 

To-day  those  States  are  nearer  the  Atlantic,  by  the  eastern 
routes,  than  Missouri  is.  Their  products  can  go  to  those  markets 
at  as  little  cost,  and  sell  at  as  much  profit  as  hers.  There  are  more 
than  four  degrees  of  latitude  between  the  entrance  to  the  upper, 
and  the  entrance  to  the  lower  channel. 

It  is  said  that  two  millions  of  dollars,  expended  upon  the  upper 
channel,  would  enable  such  boats  as  could  alone  take  the  products 
of  Minnesota  and  Iowa  down  the  Mississippi  to  the  lower  channel, 
to  pass  directly  to  the  Lakes  over  the  upper  one. 

It  is  true,  that  the  improvement  of  the  lower  channel,  and  the 
neglect  of  the  upper  one,  would  not  place  Iowa  and  Minnesota 
farther  from  the  Atlantic  markets  than  they  now  are.  But  it  is 
equally  true,  it  would  place  them  farther  from  those  markets  than 
Missouri  would  then  be.  Thereafter,  freights  from  St.  Louis  would 
have  an  advantage  in  those  markets,  equal  to  the  cost  of  more 
than  three  hundred  miles  of  transportation. 

So  far  as  competition  is  concerned,  it  would  be  all  the  same  as 
if  Missouri  was  transplanted,  at  the  national  cost,  between  those 
more  northern  States  and  their  markets.  Such  a  transposition  of 
communities  would  be  a  legitimate  object  of  State  enterprise.  It 
may  not  be  thought  so  legitimate  when  undertaken  by  the  nation. 

So  far  as  the  movement  of  commerce  is  concerned,  it  would  be 
all  the  same  as  if  the  Wisconsin  river  was  made  to  flow  through 
the  Illinois.  The  diversion  of  water-courses  is  actionable  at  com- 
mon law  against  an  individual.  It  will  hardly  be  thought  just  in  a 
nation. 

It  is  said,  indeed,  by  some  over-prudent  gentlemen,  that  the 
times  are  not  propitious  to  public  enterprises  of  this  magnitude. 

In  my  own  opinion,  that  must  depend,  altogether,  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  enterprises  themselves.  If  they  will  not  benefit  and 
strengthen  the  nation,  there  never  was  a  time  when  it  was  proper 
for  the  nation  to  engage  in  them.  If  they  will  strengthen  the 
nation,  there  never  was  a  time  so  proper  as  this.  I  see  nothing 
in  the  times  which  calls  upon  the  Republic  to  delay  in  its  progress 
or  refrain  from  effort. 

To  my  understanding,  the  times  only  call  upon  the  nation  more 
imperatively  than  heretofore,  to  comfort  its  own  soul,  to  respond 
to  its  own  conscience,  to  speak  truthfully  to  itself,  and  to  do  hon- 
orably by  each  other. 

I  am  not  regardless  ot  the  fearful  demands  made  upon  the  pub- 
lic spirit,  and  the  public  resources.  But  I  am  not  appalled  by  them. 
Suddenly  confronted  with  the  out-crop  of  a  monstrous  conspiracy 
against  their  supremacy,  of  more  than  thirty  years  growth,  I  see 
the  energies  of  the  people  constantly  lifting  as  their  necessities 
pile  up  before  them,  and  I  know  they  will  triumph. 

And,  fifty  years  hence,  when  our  children  shall  look  upon  droves 
of  iron  steeds,  springing  westward  from  the  Mississippi,  to  drink 
in  the  Pacific,  and  fleets  of  ships,  steaming  eastward  to  salute  the 
Atlantic,  I  trust  they  may  gratefully  remember,  that  our  proudest 


152 

contribution  to  the  necessities  of  peace  was  bravely  made  under 
the  extremest  pressure  of  war. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

T.  0.  HOWE. 
To  Hon.  JAMKS  KOBE,  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  and  others,  Committee. 


FROM  EDWIN  F.  JOHNSON,  ESQ., 

Civil  Engineer,  of  Middletown,  Connecticut. 

To  JAMES  ROBB,  ISAAC  N.  ARNOLD,  F.  C.  SHERMAN,  and  others, 
Committee,  &c.,  Chicago: 

GENTLEMEN  : — The  Great  Builder  in  giving  form  to  the  portion 
of  the  earth  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  impressed  upon 
its  surface  some  very  marked  features — prominent  among  which 
are  the  two  immense  valleys  or  basins,  the  drainage  of  which  is 
conveyed  to  the  Ocean  by  the  Mississippi  and  the  St.  Lawrence 
rivers.  Between  these,  and  leading  also  to  the  same  Ocean,  are 
several  very  much  smaller  basins,  differing  from  each  other  in 
magnitude. 

The  St.  Lawrence  basin  is  characterized  by  the  great  fresh-water 
lakes  or  seas  which  it  holds  in  its  bosom,  the  three  largest  of  which 
have  an  elevation  of  six  hundred  feet  nearly  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  The  remaining  two,  (Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,)  have  an  ele- 
vation, the  one  of  five  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet,  and  the  other 
of  two  hundred  and  thirty-six  feet  above  the  same  level. 

The  outlets  of  these  lakes  present  the  various  phenomena  of 
flowing  waters  on  a  large  scale,  from  the  gentle  motion  of  the 
navigable  current,  through  all  the  gradations  of  rapids,  cascades, 
and  falls,  to  the  stupendous  cataract  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet 
vertical,  which  for  all  time  has  sent  forth  its  unceasing  roar 
between  the  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario.  This  great  chain  of  waters 
unites  with  the  ocean  in  a  latitude  so  far  to  the  north,  that  the 
ocean-harbors  in  connection  with  it,  are  obstructed  by  ice  during  a 
large  portion  of  the  year. 

The  other  great  basin,  that  of  the  Mississippi,  differs  very  greatly 
in  character  from  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  It  is  marked  by  its 
vastly  greater  extent,  by  the  uniformity  of  its  descent  or  slope, 
and  by  the  rivers  that  traverse  its  surface,  of  a  navigable  character, 
unparalleled  (considering  their  number  and  extent)  in  any  other 
equal  portion  of  the  globe.  These  rivers  find  their  union  with  the 
sea,  through  the  common  channel  of  the  Mississippi,  in  the  region  of 
the  tropics,  nearly  three  thousand  miles  from  where  the  St.  Law- 
rence mingles  its  waters  with  those  of  the  same  great  Ocean. 

For  more  than  one  thousand  miles,  commencing  at  the  sources 
of  the  Mississippi,  in  Minnesota,  and  thence  to  those  of  the  Allegha- 
ny  in  New  York,  the  several  tributaries  of  these  two  basins  have 
their  rise  upon  the  same  elevated  ground,  situated  near  to  the  Lakes 


153 

and  not  greatly  exceeding  them  in  elevation.  Eastward  of  the 
Alleghany  the  southern  tributaries  of  the  St.  Lawrence  interlock 
with  those  of  the  lesser  basins,  of  which  mention  has  been  made. 

Of  the  Great  Lakes,  one  lies  wholly  and  the  other  partially  within 
the  limits  of  the  United  States.  The  St.  Lawrence  river  proper 
is  also  situated  partially  within  the  same  limits,  as  far  north  as  the 
latitude  of  forty-five  degrees. 

The  great  basin  of  the  Mississippi,  covering  a  surface  of  one 
million  of  square  miles,  lies  wholly  within  the  limits  of  the  United 
States,  except  a  very  small  portion  near  the  sources  of  the  Mis- 
souri. 

The  interlocking  of  the  tributaries  of  the  two  great  basins  as 
described,  presents  favorable  locations  in  the  States  of  Wisconsin 
and  Illinois  for  connecting  their  navigable  waters  by  artificial 
channels. 

A  similar  favorable  location  is  also  presented  for  uniting  the 
waters  of  Lake  Ontario,  with  the  Hudson,  in  the  State  of  New 
York.  A  connection  at  these  points  has  already  been  made,  but 
not  in  a  manner  as  perfect  as  the  interest  of  the  country  requires, 
by  the  Wisconsin  and  Fox  river  improvements  in  Wisconsin,  the 
Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  in  Illinois,  and  the  Oswego  and  Erie 
canals  in  New  York. 

Such  has  been  and  still  is  the  rapid  development  and  growth  of 
our  country,  that  these  improvements  are  fast  becoming  inadequate, 
in  a  commercial  and  military  view,  for  the  purposes  contemplated. 

Between  the  Upper  Mississippi,  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  the 
northern  international  boundary,  is  an  area  of  full  four  hundred 
thousand  square  miles,  the  larger  portion  of  which  is  adapted  to 
the  culture  of  wheat  and  other  grains,  and  to  grazing,  and  this 
character,  (such  is  the  direction  of  the  isothermal  lines  and  milder 
character  of  the  climate  towards  the  West),  extends  to  the  region 
north,  including  the  valley  of  the  Saskatchawan,  in  the  British 
Possessions. 

All  this  vast  region,  now  trodden,  with  but  few  exceptions,  only 
by  the  foot  of  the  buffalo  hunter  and  the  Indian,  is  destined  ere 
long  to  be  occupied  by  an  intelligent  and  industrious  population, 
who  will  there  find  homes  of  comfort  and  peace. 

The  products  of  this  region  will  find  their  cheapest  mode  of 
transit  to  the  Eastern  States  and  the  Atlantic,  by  the  Great  Lakes. 
The  latter  will  be  reached  from  the  valley  of  the  Saskatchawan 
by  the  navigation  of  that  river,  the  Red  river  of  the  North,  and 
the  St.  Peter's  branch  of  the  Missouri,  which  can  easily  be  con- 
nected by  two  or  three  short  canals,  having  a  small  amount  of 
lockage.  The  products  of  this  region,  including  the  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi as  far  down  as  the  south  line  of  Iowa,  seeking  the  cheapest 
conveyance  to  the  eastern  markets  during  the  season  of  navigation, 
will  find  their  way  to  Lake  Michigan  through  the  Wisconsin  and 
Fox  river  improvement.  Those  of  the  great  valley  of  the  Mis- 
souri, including  the  Mississippi  as  far  down  as  the  Ohio  or  below, 
will  find  their  cheapest  navigable  route  to  the  great  markets  of  the 


154 

East  by  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  improvement,  a  trade  which  will 
eventually,  and  at  no  very  distant  day,  be  augmented  by  contribu- 
tions from  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from  the  valley  of  the 
Columbia,  and  from  the  Pacific. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  two  communications  between  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Lake  Michigan,  will  not  materially  interfere  with  each 
other.  They  will  command  separately  an  amount  of  business 
sufficient  to  tax  their  utmost  capabilities.  To  render  them  adequate 
to  the  demand  which  will  be  made  upon  them,  and  suited  to  the 
passage  of  river-vessels  of  the  larger  class,  their  channels  and 
locks  should  be  enlarged  so  that  these  vessels  may  reach,  without 
change  of  bulk,  the  navigation  of  the  Lakes. 

This  improvement  or  enlargement,  now  already  required  for 
commercial  purposes,  is  also  demanded  as  a  military  measure,  to 
enable  Government  to  transfer,  whenever  required  by  the  exigences 
of  the  country,  its  floating  bulwarks  from  one  series  of  waters  to 
the  other. 

That  these  improvements  may  be  productive  of  the  greatest 
amount  of  benefit,  and  that  the  augmented  traffic  of  the  Lakes 
may  find  its  cheapest  and  best  channel  to  the  leading  mart  upon 
the  Atlantic,  a  navigation  of  a  character  somewhat  different  per- 
haps from  the  one  contemplated  between  the  Lakes  and  the  Missis- 
sippi is  desirable  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Hudson. 

This  navigation  should  be  adapted  to  the  passage  of  vessels  the 
most  suitable  for  the  cheap  transmission  of  freight  to  the  seaboard. 
The  resolutions  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  at  its  last  session, 
provide  for  an  increase  in  the  width  of  the  enlarged  Erie  and 
Oswego  canals  of  ten  feet.  The  locks  to  be  200  by  26  feet.  These 
dimensions  are  less  than  would  probably  be  adopted,  if  the  ques- 
tion was  an  open  one,  that  is,  if  there  was  no  canal  already  in 
operation  between  the  same  points.  It  is  probable  that  a  larger 
canal  would  be  so  difficult  of  attainment,  that  the  benefit  desired 
might  not  be  an  equivalent  for  the  expense  incurred  in  effecting  it. 

A  canal  of  the  dimensions  proposed,  while  it  will  greatly  pro- 
mote the  commercial  interests  of  the  country,  will  fulfil,  if  not  the 
most  perfectly,  yet  to  a  very  desirable  extent,  the  conditions  required 
of  it  in  a  military  view. 

Intimately  connected  with  this  latter  improvement,  and  essen- 
tial to  it,  is  the  construction  of  a  channel  suited  to  lake-going 
vessels,  of  all  dimensions,  or  the  adoption  of  some  other  equally 
efficient  and  adequate  means  for  the  transfer  of  vessels  and  their 
cargoes,  between  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  within  the  limits  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  a  channel  which  should  be  as  far  removed  as 
possible  from  danger  or  injury  by  a  neighboring  power  occupying 
towards  us  a  hostile  attitude. 

Many  years  since  I  had  occasion  to  make  a  professional  examina- 
tion and  report  upon  the  propriety  of  improving  the  communication 
between  the  Lakes  and  the  Hudson,  by  the  construction  of  a  canal 
similar  in  character  to  that  now  contemplated. 

It  was  then  shown  that  the  cheapest  navigable  route  between 


155 

the  Hudson  and  the  country  bordering  the  Great  Lakes,  embraced 
the  waters  of  Lake  Ontario,  from  Oswego  west,  and  the  connec- 
tion of  that  lake  with  Lake  Erie,  in  the  manner  now  proposed, 
and  subsequent  experience  and  observation  have  confirmed  the 
correctness  of  the  conclusion. 

The  State  of  New  York  has,  within  the  last  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years,  expended  large  sums  in  the  enlargement  of  the  long  line  of 
canal  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Hudson,  and  from  the  latter  line  to 
Lake  Ontario ;  but  the  great  and  rapidly  growing  West  is  still 
without  the  benefit  of  the  cheapest  and  best  navigable  communi- 
cation with  the  Atlantic. 

Those  conversant  with  the  character  of  the  products  to  be  con- 
veyed between  the  East  and  the  West,  and  the  cost  of  conveyance 
by  different  modes  of  transit,  will  not  need  to  be  informed  that 
the  great  chain  of  inland  waters,  stretching,  with  the  few  inter- 
ruptions named,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Rocky  mountains,  in  the 
particular  direction  which  will  yet  be  pursued  and  adopted  for  the 
great  national  highway  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  must  per- 
form a  most  important  part  in  the  transmission  of  those  products — 
must  perform  a  most  important  part  in  facilitating  commercial 
exchanges  throughout  the  entire  distance  named. 

It  is  only  by  means  of  the  cheap  navigation  of  the  great  lakes 
and  rivers  named,  that  the  heavy  and  bulky  products  of  the  West, 
when  those  products  are  sent  from  the  more  remote  points,  can  be 
delivered  at  our  ocean-marts,  at  a  cost  that  will  insure  a  reasonable 
return  to  the  producer. 

The  improvements  proposed  will  not  interfere  materially  with, 
but  on  the  other  hand  will  probably  constitute  an  important 
auxiliary,  to  the  great  system  of  railway  intercommunication,  which 
is  spreading  its  iron  arms  over  every  portion  of  our  country.  As 
beneficial  and  useful  as  is  the  latter,  it  cannot  supply  the  place  of 
natural  waters  for  long  distances,  where  time  is  not  an  important 
element,  and  where  cheapness  of  transit  is  a  ruling  consideration. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  improvements  in  question  are  truly 
national  in  their  character,  and  as  such  should  receive  the  support 
of  the  patriotic  and  intelligent  of  all  sections  of  our  common  coun- 
try, and  if  necessary  for  their  accomplishment,  they  should  also 
receive  aid  to  a  reasonable  extent  from  the  General  and  State 
Governments. 

It  is  for  such  purposes,  among  others,  that  free  governments  are 
instituted,  to  protect  and  render  most  effective  the  labor  and  indus- 
try of  the  country;  to  promote  in  the  best,  the  most  just,  and  most 
beneficent  manner,  the  general  welfare;  and  to  do,  within  con- 
stitutional limits,  whatever  is  required  for  the  best  good  of  all,  when 
the  object  to  be  attained  cannot  be  accomplished  by  individual  or 
municipal  agency. 

With  much  respect,  I  am,  gentlemen,  very  truly  yours, 

EDWIN  F.  JOHNSON. 

MIDDLBTOWN,  CONN.,  May  22,  1863. 


156 


FROM  HON.  W.  P.  SHEFFIELD, 

Late  a  Member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  Rhode  Island. 

NEWPORT,  R.  I.,  May  7, 1863. 

GENTLEMEN: — By  this  day's  mail  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  favor 
of  the  24th  ult.,  inviting  me  to  be  present  at  your  meeting  to  be 
held  in  Chicago  on  the  second  proximo,  to  further  the  enlargement 
of  the  canals  between  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Atlan- 
tic coast. 

If,  by  going  to  Chicago,  I  could  render  any  practical  aid  to  the 
project  you  have  in  view,  I  should  cheerfully  make  the  journey,  for 
I  believe  the  proposed  improvement  to  be  an  undertaking  of  very 
great  national  and  commercial  importance.  Its  completion  would 
create  a  new  bond  of  union  between  the  East  and  the  West — 
cheapen  the  cost  of  transporting  food,  a  benefit  which  would  be 
shared  by  the  producer  at  the  West  and  the  consumer  at  the  East 
— would  stimulate  the  agricultural  enterprise  of  the  West,  and 
induce  the  culture  of  other  products  which  would  find  a  ready 
market  in  the  East.  It  is  believed  that  indigo,  sumac,  madder, 
and  other  articles,  now  brought  from  foreign  countries,  might  be 
successfully  cultivated  in  parts  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
which  this  channel  of  trade  would  put  in  cheap  communication 
with  the  markets  of  the  East. 

I  am  a  believer  in  the  constitution  of  the  United  States ;  but  I 
have  but  little  sympathy  in  opinion  with  those  men  who  find,  under 
the  power  to  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  the  author- 
ity to  erect  and  maintain  light-houses,  and  to  send  expeditions  to 
the  Dead  Sea,  in  search  of  ancient  Sodom,  and  who  cannot  find  in 
the  power  to  regulate  trade  between  the  States,  the  authority  to 
construct  a  road,  or  widen  a  canal,  over  or  through  which  the  com- 
merce of  a  great  section  of  the  country  will  necessarily  be  carried. 

The  more  I  reflect  on  this  improvement,  the  more  I  am  satisfied 
of  its  importance,  not  only  to  the  West,  but  to  the  East. 

We,  of  New  England,  are  for  developing  the  resources  of  the 
West,  for  this  adds  to  our  national  prosperity ;  but  not  only  for 
this — for  our  kindred,  and  those  who  are  now  our  neighbors,  are 
of  you;  and  though  we  are  now  in  the  full  tide  of  our  strength, 
if,  in  after  times,  adversity  should  come  upon  us,  we  should  look 
to  you  of  the  West  for  support,  relying  upon  your  good  offices,  as 
a  devoted  parent  would,  in  times  of  trial,  look  for  the  aid  of  a  wor- 
thy son.  You  are  bound  to  us  by  ties  stronger  than  those  written 
on  parchment;  our  blood  flows  in  your  veins,  and  the  ashes  of 
your  ancestors  moulder  in  our  soil. 

I  am  but  a  private  citizen.  I  could  do  you  no  good  by  attending 
your  meeting.  Professional  employment  presses  upon  my  time. 
I  therefore  feel  constrained  to  decline  the  kind  invitation  with 
which  you  have  honored  me. 

With  great  respect,  I  am  your  ob't  serv't, 

WM.  P.  SHEFFIELD. 

Messrs.  JAMKS  ROBB,  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  and  others. 


157 


FROM  THE  HON.  GEO.  OPDYKE, 

Mayor  of  New  York  City. 

MAYOR'S  OFFICE,  NEW  YORK, 

May  27,  1863. 
HON.  ISAAC  N.  ARNOLD: 

DEAR  SIR: — Your  favor  of  the  12th  inst.,  inviting  my  attendance 
at  the  National  Convention,  to  be  held  at  Chicago,  on  Tuesday 
next,  has  been  duly  received.  I  thank  you  for  the  courtesy  of 
this  invitation,  and  the  very  kind  language  in  which  it  is  conveyed. 

I  heartily  approve  of  the  movement  of  this  Convention,  the  object 
of  which  has  my  warmest  sympathy. 

The  pressure  of  business  here  will,  I  regret  to  say,  deprive  me 
of  the  pleasure  of  meeting  with  you.  I  have,  however,  requested 
the  Common  Council  of  this  city  to  send  a  delegation  to  represent 
us  in  the  Convention,  and  I  trust  this  will  be  done  at  the  meeting 
of  the  Boards  to-morrow. 

I  inclose  a  copy  of  my  communication  to  the  Common  Council 
on  the  subject. 

With  great  regard,  I  am  truly  yours, 

GEORGE  OPDYKE. 


FROM  HON.  S.  D.  CARPENTER, 

Of  Wisconsin. 

MADISON,  May  16,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN: — Your  kind  invitation  to  be  present  at  the 
National  Canal  Convention,  to  be  held  at  Chicago,  on  the  first 
Tuesday  of  June  next,  was  duly  received,  and  in  response  to  your 
request,  I  drop  you  this  reply. 

I  regret  that  my  health  and  business  is  such  that  I  cannot  be 
present  at  your  Convention,  for  nothing  could  scarcely  afford  me 
more  pleasure.  I  assure  you,  I  feel  the  most  lively  interest  in 
the  expressed  objects  of  the  Convention,  and  cannot  but  hope 
that  its  deliberations  will  be  characterized  by  prudence,  wisdom, 
and  firmness,  which  alone  can  secure  success. 

The  object  of  uniting  the  Great  Lakes  with  the  Mississippi,  for 
commercial  and  national  purposes,  concerns  not  alone  the  great 
West,  but  nearly  the  whole  Union.  Facilities  for  national  defense 
and  protection  should  be  the  first  object  of  an  enterprising  people. 
The  commercial  advantages  to  come,  as  incident,  would  become 
incalculable.  These  links  of  intercommunication,  these  channels 
that  float  commerce,  and  keep  alive  industry,  and  stimulate  enter- 
prise, form  the  chain  which  is  most  needed  to  strengthen  and  fasten 
together  the  great  end  and  purposes  of  fraternal  union. 

The  Erie  canal  not  only  accomplished  much  to  people  the  West 
and  enrich  the  East,  but  it  accomplishes  more  for  civilization,  the 
spread  of  union  sentiment,  and  all  those  interests  that  make  us  a 
homogeneous  people,  than  armies  could  do,  or  an  age  of  prose- 


158 

lyting  perform.  It  has  been  aptly  observed  that  a  successful  tele- 
graph-cable between  Great  Britain  and  America  would  keep  the 
peace  between  the  two  nations  for  a  century  at  least.  A  channel 
of  commerce,  between  otherwise  antagonistic  people,  is  a  link  of 
friendship  formed  by  a  community  of  interests,  which  nothing, 
save  the  most  adverse  wind  of  fortune,  can  shake  or  move. 

That  the  proposed  connection  between  the  Lakes  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi will  be  the  best  guarantee  of  the  future  peace,  not  only 
between  the  agricultural  West  and  the  manufacturing  and  com- 
mercial East,  but  as  between  Great  Britain  and  the  National  Union, 
I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt. 

The  subject  is  rich  with  facts  and  convincing  illustrations,  but  a 
time  is  not  now  allotted  to  me,  I  will  be  content  with  dropping  the 
above  hints,  and  again  assuring  you,  gentlemen,  that  though  I 
cannot  probably  be  present  in  person,  1  will  be  with  you  in  spirit 
and  hope,  even  unto  the  end. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  etc., 

STEPHEN  D.  CARPENTER. 

To  Messrs.  ROBB,  ARNOLD,  SHERMAN,  and  others,  Committee  of  Invitation. 


FROM  CHARLES  LANMAN,  ESQ., 

Librarian   of  the  House  of  Representatives,    Washington. 

WASHINGTON,  May  19,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN: — I  have  received  your  invitation  to  attend  the 
National  Convention  to  be  held  in  Chicago,  on  the  second  of  June 
next.  The  honor  thus  conferred  upon  me,  I  probably  owe  to  my 
humble  connection  with  the  press;  but  as  I  am  a  native  of  Michi- 
gan, and  have  ever  felt  special  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the 
North-western  States,  I  think  I  am  entitled  to  wish  the  proposed 
Convention  all  the  success  it  deserves.  I  do  this  most  heartily, 
and  regret  that  it  will  not  be  my  privilege  to  be  present  on  the 
occasion. 

Nature  itself  has  done  quite  as  much  for  your  splendid  region  of 
country  as  for  any  other,  and  it  is  only  right  that  science  and  art 
should  exert  themselves  to  the  utmost,  to  assist  the  necessities  of 
nature.  In  times  past,  and  especially  during  the  present  deplor- 
able rebellion,  the  people  of  the  North-West  have  proven  their 
patriotism  to  be  unselfish,  and  sincere,  to  an  unexampled  degree ; 
and  anything  that  can  be  done  by  the  General  Government  for 
their  prosperity,  ought  not  to  be  neglected.  And  as  to  the  impor- 
tance to  the  whole  country,  of  greatly  increasing  the  effectiveness 
of  our  works  of  internal  navigation,  that  is  a  question  that  does 
not  need  any  argument. 

My  first  impulse,  on  receiving  your  invitation,  was  to  comment 
somewhat  fully  upon  the  important  measures  which  will  occupy 
the  attention  of  the  Convention,  but  men  of  mark  and  ability  will 
do  all  that  in  person,  before  the  assembly;  and  they  will  not,  I  am 


159 

certain,  forget  the  eminent  dead,  whose  names  are  identified  with 
the  history  of  canal-navigation  in  the  United  States,  and  with  the 
prosperity  of  the  Great  West.  The  spirit  of  DE  WITT  CLINTON,  for 
example,  will  undoubtedly  be  with  the  members  of  the  Convention, 
and  they  should  gather  encouragement  from  the  perseverance  of 
that  great  man.  Nor  will  HENRY  CLAY  be  forgotten,  who  said  many 
things  pertinent  to  your  enterprise,  and  the  following  was  one  of 
them:  "No  man,  who  has  paid  the  least  attention  to  the  opera- 
tions of  modern  war,  can  have  failed  to  remark  how  essential  good 
roads  and  canals  are  to  the  success  of  those  operations."  And 
DANIEL  WEBSTER,  too,  whose  repeated  efforts  in  behalf  of  internal 
improvements  the  West  can  never  forget,  would  he  not  have  been 
among  the  foremost  to  advocate  the  enlargement  of  the  canals  at 
the  present  time  ?  In  a  speech  that  he  delivered  in  the  Senate,  on 
the  Louisville  canal,  he  uttered  a  few  thoughts  which  apply  with 
great  force  to  the  enterprise  now  attracting  the  attention  of  the 
statesmen,  commercial  men,  and  stalwart  yeomanry  of  the  West: 

"It  is  enough  for  me,"  said  he,  "to  know  that  the  object  is  a 
good  one,  an  important  one,  within  the  scope  of  our  powers,  and 
called  for  by  the  fair  claims  of  our  commerce.  So  that  it  be  within 
the  Union,  it  cannot  be  too  remote  for  me.  This  feeling,  so  nat- 
ural, as  I  think,  to  true  patriotism,  is  the  dictate  also  of  enlightened 
self-interest.  Were  I  to  look  only  to  the  benefits  of  my  immediate 
constituents,  I  should  still  support  this  measure.  Is  not  our  com- 
merce floating  on  these  western  rivers?  Are  not  our  manufac- 
tures ascending  them  all,  by  day  and  by  night,  by  the  power  of 
steam,  which  is  incessantly  impelling  a  thousand  engines,  and  forc- 
ing upwards  against  their  currents,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tons 
of  freight  ?  If  their  cargoes  be  lost,  if  they  be  injured,  if  their 
progress  be  delayed,  if  the  expense  of  their  transportation  be 
increased,  who  does  not  see  that  all  interested  in  them  become 
sufferers  ?  Who  does  not  see  that  every  producer,  every  manu- 
facturer, every  trader,  every  laborer,  has  an  interest  in  these  im- 
provements?" 

Thanking  the  Committee  on  Invitations  for  the  honor  conferred 
upon  me,  I  have  but  to  express  my  belief  and  hope  that  the  objects 
of  the  National  Canal  Convention  will  be  fully  and  speedily  realized. 

Very  respectfully,  gentlemen,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  LANMAN. 

To  the  Hon.  Committee  on  Invitations  for  the  National  Canal  Convention,  Chi- 
cago, 111. 


FROM  GEORGE  W.  CURTIS,  ESQ., 

Of  New  York. 

NORTH  SHORE,  STATEN  ISLAND,  N.  Y. 

May  23,  1863. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  : — I  have  left  long  unanswered  your  most  cordial 
and  friendly  invitation  to  attend  your  Convention.     It  will  be  im- 


160 

possible  for  me  to  come,  and  equally  impossible  to  withhold  the 
heartiest  sympathy  for  a  plan  so  simple,  so  national,  and  so  worthy 
and  characteristic  of  the  North- West,  as  the  junction  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Lake  Michigan. 

Gen.  Webster's  concise,  comprehensive,  and  lucid  report  seems 
to  exhaust  the  question.  Every  great  work,  which  binds  every 
part  of  us  close  to  every  other,  is  a  work  dear  to  every  loyal  citi- 
zen ;  and  the  Union  is  ever  secure,  so  long  as  we  follow  the  hints 
of  nature,  and  use  every  fresh  resource  of  science.  Empires 
weaken  by  extension ;  but  steam,  and  the  telegraph,  and  every 
rapid,  and  convenient,  and  obvious  means  of  communication,  anni- 
hilate distance. 

Very  truly  yours, 

GEO.  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

To  HON.  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  Chicago. 


FROM  FREDERICK  LAW  OLMSTED,  ESQ., 

Secretary  of  the  U.  S.  Sanitary  Commission,  Washington. 

WASHINGTON,  May  22,  1863. 

MY  DEAR  SIR: — I  am  well  convinced,  that  the  purpose  intended 
to  be  furthered  by  the  meeting  at  Chicago,  on  the  second  of  June, 
is  one  of  the  greatest  importance  to  our  interests  as  a  nation.  I 
am  unable  to  judge  what  would  be  the  best  method  to  bring  about 
the  accomplishment  of  that  purpose,  but  I  am  sure  that  whatever 
promises  the  broadest  and  deepest  water,  in  the  shortest  time,  be- 
tween lake  and  ocean,  that  plan  is  best  and  in  the  end  will  be  the 
cheapest. 

I  had,  until  within  a  few  days,  hoped  to  be  able  to  meet  you  at 
the  Convention,  but  now  find  it  will  be  necessary  for  me  to  be  in 
New  York  on  the  appointed  day. 

Sincerely  regretting  this,  and  thanking  you  for  the  invitation, 
I  am,  dear  sir,  most  respectfully  yours, 

FRED.   LAW  OLMSTED. 

To  HON.  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  Chicago. 


FROM  MAJ.   GEN.   S.  R.  CURTIS,   U.  S.  A. 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  MISSOURI, 
ST.  Louis,  May  9,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN: — I  am  in  receipt  of  your  favor  of  the  20th  ult, 
inviting  me  to  attend  the  Convention  which  will  convene  on  the 
second  proximo,  "  to  co-operate  in  such  measures  as  shall  tend 
to  promote  the  development,  security,  and  unity  of  the  whole 
country." 

Your  object  is  to  promote  the  great  idea  of  uniting  the  waters  of 
the  Mississippi  with  those  of  the  Lakes,  and  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
Hudson,  by  such  a  channel  as  shall  secure  profitable  and  commo- 
dious navigation  for  boats. 


161 

The  interests  involved  are  so  vast,  and  the  difficulty  to  be  over- 
come so  small,  I  am  not  surprised  at  the  zeal  manifested  to  secure  an 
immediate  effort  to  accomplish  the  success  of  the  work.  It  is  only 
to  enlarge  works  already  constructed.  It  is  no  matter  of  doubtful 
experiment,  or  novel  intricacy.  The  enlargement  of  a  canal,  and 
the  construction  of  a  dam  or  two  on  the  Illinois  river,  with  suitable 
locks,  can  be  readily  estimated,  and  soon  accomplished. 

When  this  is  done,  the  great  rivers  of  the  West  will  all  receive 
a  new  and  wonderful  augmentation  of  their  commercial  conse- 
quence. Grain  and  cattle  that  now  find  no  market,  or  must  be 
nearly  exhausted  in  value,  by  transportations  and  shipments  on 
railroads,  will  then  find  such  certain  and  cheap  conveyances  to  the 
ocean,  through  healthy  climates,  as  to  nearly  double  their  value 
at  home.  This  will  stimulate  the  increase,  and  railroads  will  not 
be  impaired,  as  they  will  still  have  more  than  they  can  do,  in  car- 
rying through  light  freight,  that  seeks  a  more  rapid  transit. 

But  it  is  not  in  my  power,  in  this  letter,  to  even  present  the  lead- 
ing elements  of  such  an  enterprise.  It  is  proper  to  press  the  mat- 
ter now,  because  this  work  is  of  great  national  and  military  impor- 
tance /  and  our  people  are  now,  more  than  ever,  sensible  of  the 
necessity  and  importance  of  our  great  national  organizations,  and 
the  certainty  and  reality  of  war.  Every  link,  that  binds  us  as  a 
nation,  will  now  receive  special  consideration.  The  commercial 
union  contemplated  by  you  is,  therefore,  one  of  great  ideas,  inci- 
dent to  our  terrible  revolution.  We  see  new  necessities  and  new 
objects  of  pursuit.  All  natural  and  artificial  combinations  deserve 
and  receive  new  inspiration.  The  subject  of  uniting  the  Missis- 
sippi and  the  Lakes  is  now  easily  comprehended,  and  I  cordially 
approve,  and  will  earnestly  advocate,  any  reasonable  plans  to 
accomplish  your  success. 

As  other  cares  will  not  enable  me  to  attend  your  Convention, 
I  avail  myself  of  this  means  of  informing  you  of  my  hearty  co- 
operation, and  my  thanks  for  the  honor  of  your  invitation  to  be 
present  with  you  on  the  occasion. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  gentlemen, 

Your  very  oVt  serv't, 

S.  R.  CURTIS, 

To  Messrs.  JAMES  ROBB,  I.  X.  ARNOLD,  F.  C.  SHERMAN,  and  others,  Com.,  etc. 


FROM  HON.  O.  B.  FICKLIN, 

Late  a  Member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  lUinoit. 

CHARLESTON,  May  29,  1863. 
Hon.  ISAAC  N.  ARXOLD,  and  others: 

DEAR  SIRS: — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  letter  of  invitation  to  attend  the  National  Convention  to  be 
holden  in  Chicago,  on  the  2nd  of  June.  The  union  of  our  whole 
country,  from  centre  to  circumference,  by  ship-canals  and  railways, 

11 


162 

is  of  the  first  importance  in  a  social  and  commercial  point  of  view, 
and  I  doubt  not  that  the  proceedings  of  the  contemplated  Conven- 
tion will  materially  tend  to  the  promotion  of  that  desirable  object. 

We  cannot,  in  peace  or  in  war,  over-estimate  the  value  of  inter- 
communication by  canal  and  railway,  between  every  portion  of  our 
common  and  glorious  country,  and  I  may  add  that  the  Great  West 
is  not  without  her  share  of  the  blessings  and  responsibilities  con- 
nected with  this  enterprise. 

One  flag  and  one  destiny  should,  in  my  humble  judgment,  be 
desired  by  the  people  of  this  entire  continent,  with  equal  rights 
and  well  defined,  to  every  citizen,  high  or  low. 

To  make  the  bosom  of  our  great  lakes  and  canals,  together 
with  the  channel  of  the  Mississippi,  the  highway  of  nations  for 
first-class  vessels  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
would  be  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  of  priceless  value  to  us. 

That  your  Convention  may  be  a  crowning  success,  in  develop- 
ing the  resources  of  our  whole  country,  is  my  earnest  desire. 

Home  engagements  forbid  my  absence  on  the  day  of  your  meet- 
ing. Very  respectfully, 

ORLANDO  B.  FICKLIN. 


FROM  HON.  ERASTUS  FAIRBANKS, 

Ufa-Governor  of  Vermont. 

ST.  JOHNSBUKY,  VT.,  May  26,  1863. 

SIR  : — Other  engagements  will  prevent  my  responding  to  the 
invitation  of  your  Committee  to  attend  the  National  Canal  Con- 
vention on  the  2nd  of  June,  but  I  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity 
to  express  my  appreciation  of  the  pro  posed  enterprise,  and  my 
earnest  desire  that  measures  may  be  adopted  for  a  successful 
prosecution  of  the  work. 

I  need  not  speak  of  its  importance.  Whether  viewed  in  rela- 
tion to  its  military  necessity,  or  its  commercial  consequence,  it  is 
truly  a  national  work,  and  its  importance  cannot  be  over-estimated. 
It  is  destined  to  be  an  essential,  if  not  an  indispensable  link,  in 
the  chain  which  is  to  perpetuate  the  unity  of  the  States,  and  facil- 
itate not  only  their  commercial  intercourse,  but  their  defense 
against  foreign  aggression. 

The  time  is  auspicious  for  prosecuting  the  work.  It  is  well 
understood  that  the  superabundant  products  of  the  Western  States, 
in  many  parts,  is  rendered  comparatively  worthless  for  want  of 
cheap  means  of  transportation  to  available  markets.  The  financial 
condition  of  the  country  is  favorable  for  undertaking  the  enter- 
prise. 

The  events  of  the  war  have  demonstrated  the  importance  of  our 
inland  waters  for  naval  operations,  and  the  public  mind  is  awake 
to  the  necessity,  as  a  national  measure,  of  extending  these  facilities, 
and  of  opening  a  ship-communication  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 


Northern  Lakes  and  the  Atlantic  ports.  These  and  other  con- 
siderations commend  it  to  the  earnest  attention  of  the  intelligent 
public,  and  demand  for  it  the  patronage  of  Congress. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ERASTUS  FAIRBANKS. 
JAMES  ROBB,  ESQ.,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Invitations,  Chicago. 


FROM  B.  J.  LOSSING,  ESQ., 

Of  New  Torts. 

POUGHKEEPSIE,  N.  Y.,  May  25,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN: — I  have  the  pleasure  to  acknowledge  the  honor  of 
an  invitation  from  you  to  attend  the  National  Convention,  at 
Chicago,  on  the  2nd  of  June.  I  sincerely  regret  my  inability  to 
comply,  for  every  man  who  shall  give  his  voice  and  influence  in 
favor  of  the  great  measures  proposed  there  to  be  inaugurated, 
will,  I  am  persuaded,  have  a  record  to  be  proud  of. 

An  industrious  and  intelligent  population,  comprising  at  least 
one-third  of  the  100,000,000  of  inhabitants  which  the  Eleventh 
National  Enumeration  will  doubtless  exhibit,  will  occupy  immense 
Free  States  within  the  entire  latitudinal  boundaries  of  the  Republic 
westward  of  the  Mississippi;  and  it  seems  to  me  that  wise  states- 
manship and  enlightened  patriotism  must  necessarily  declare  that 
preparations  for  the  proposed  facilities  for  industrial  exchanges 
between  the  Mississippi  valley  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard  cannot 
be  too  soon  commenced. 

I  believe  that  we  are  standing,  as  a  nation,  on  the  threshold  of  a 
career  more  glorious  and  beneficent  than  has  ever  been  conceived. 
This  war  will  eradicate  the  great  national  disease,  vindicate  the 
claim  for  republican  institutions  of  strength  and  stability,  and  pre- 
pare the  way  for  the  great  exodus  of  the  crowded  population  of 
the  Eastern  hemisphere. 

The  Pacific  railways  will  bring  to  the  Mississippi  valley  the 
treasures  of  Old  Cathay  ;  and  these  and  the  agricultural  and  min- 
eral productions  of  the  Great  Basin  and  the  regions  beyond  will 
demand  an  almost  indefinite  expansion  of  the  arteries,  through 
which  life-giving  internal  commerce  now  circulates. 

There  is  a  moral  sublimity  in  your  movement  at  this  time,  an 
exhibition  of  faith  in  the  strength  and  perpetuity  of  the  Government 
and  of  the  territorial  integrity  of  the  Republic,  which  must  com- 
mand the  admiration  of  the  world.  You  propose,  in  the  midst  of  a 
fierce  and  gigantic  war,  by  which  the  very  existence  of  the  nation 
is  menaced,  measures  of  vast  importance  and  magnificent  propor- 
tion, for  the  aggrandizement  of  that  nation  and  the  good  of  man- 
kind. 

Because  of  the  considerations  here  hinted  at,  and  a  score  of 
others  that  might  be  named,  I  very  cordially  and  hopefully  God- 
speed the  enterprise ! 


With  sentiments  of  high  regard,  I  am,  gentlemen,  your  friend 
and  obedient  servant, 

BENSON  J.  LOSSING. 

To  Messrs.  JAMKS  ROBB,  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  and  others,  Committee  on  Invitations, 
Chicago. 


FROM  HIS  EXCELLENCY,  J.  A.  ANDREW, 

Governor  of  Massachwsetts. 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  BOSTON, 

May  30,  1863. 
HON.  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  Chicago,  111.: 

DEAR  SIR: — I  sincerely  and  deply  regret  to  be  obliged  to  reply 
to  your  invitation  to  attend  the  National  Convention,  at  Chicago, 
that  pressing  and  imperative  duties,  which  I  cannot  postpone  or 
avoid,  will  detain  me  in  Massachusetts,  and  prevent  my  attend- 
ance. I  beg  leave  again  to  express,  however,  the  sincere  interest 
which  I  entertain  in  those  great  projects  of  internal  improvement, 
which  are  to  form  the  subject  of  the  deliberations  of  this  Conven- 
tion, and  my  sense  of  the  transcendent  importance  of  the  various 
national,  political,  and  economical  questions,  which  are  more  or  less 
involved  with  the  completion  of  these  grand  projects. 

I  beg  to  assure  you  of  the  great  disappointment  that  I  feel,  at 
being  deprived  of  an  excursion  which  I  had  confidently  promised 
myself,  and  which  I  greatly  need,  and  at  the  loss  of  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  personally  many  of  our  Western  friends,  whom  it  would 
have  been  grateful  to  meet;  as  well  as  of  enjoying  and  profiting 
by  the  instruction,  which  we  could  not  fail  to  find,  where  so  many 
thoughtful  and  earnest  men  will  be  assembled,  for  council  and 
deliberation  upon  matters  of  such  grave  importance.  But  my  con- 
stant and  unremitting  attention  is  imperatively  demanded  by  official 
duties,  from  which  I  cannot  escape  if  I  would,  and  I  must  reluc- 
tantly abandon  the  hope  of  being  with  you  on  this  occasion. 

With  the  most  earnest  hope  that  the  labors  of  the  Convention 
may  lead  to  happy  and  practical  results, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  friend  and  servant, 

J.  A.  ANDREW. 


EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER  OF  HON.  J.  P.  KENNEDY, 

Formerly  Secretary  of  the  2favy. 

BALTIMORE,  May  29,  ]8G3. 

I  am  greatly  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  projected 
enterprise,  which,  both  in  value  and  in  magnitude,  may  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  schemes  of  national  statesmanship  ever 
presented  to  the  country — worthy  of  imperial  fame,  and  destined 


165 

to  produce  the  most  magnificent  results  in  the  development  of  the 
power  of  the  nation. 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  be  there,  even  as  a  spectator;  much  more, 
that  I  cannot  take  my  share  in  the  duty  of  commending  this  pro- 
ject to  the  public  attention. 

Very  truly,  yours, 

JOHN  F.  KENNEDY. 
JAMES  ROBB,  Esq. 


FROM   REV.  DR.  TAPPAN, 

Late  Chancellor  of  the   University  of  Michigan. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  MICHIGAK, 
June  1,  1863. 

Messrs.  JAMES  ROBB,   I.  N.  ARNOLD,  and  others,   Committee  of 
Invitation: 

GENTLEMEN: — I  thank  you  for  the  honor  of  an  invitation  to 
attend  the  National  Convention,  which  meets  at  Chicago  to-morrow. 
I  regret  very  much  that  my  employments  are  such  as  to  prevent 
my  attendance.  My  regret,  however,  arises  from  what  I  shall 
myself  lose,  rather  than  from  the  hope  that  my  presence  would  add 
anything  to  the  practical  wisdom  which  will  be  there  collected. 

A  Convention,  having  in  view  such  stupendous  public  works, 
designed  for  the  prosperity  belonging  to  times  of  peace,  still  more 
than  for  the  emergencies  of  war,  assembled  during  the  fearful  strug- 
gle for  national  existence,  is  truly  a  sublime  spectacle.  The  project 
of  connecting  the  Atlantic  with  the  Mississippi,  by  ship-canal,  is  kin- 
dred to  that  of  connecting  the  Atlantic  with  the  Pacific,  by  a  rail- 
road. Born  at  this  time,  they  evince  the  deep  consciousness  of  our 
national  strength,  the  unswerving  faith  in  our  national  destiny. 
The  purpose  to  bind  together  the  remotest  parts  of  our  great  coun- 
try, by  artificial  rivers  and  roads  of  iron,  rising  above  the  waves  of 
civil  discord  and  the  storm  of  battle,  is  like  Neptune  of  old,  rising 
from  the  sea,  calmly  to  assert  his  divinity,  by  controlling  the  angry 
elements : 

"  alto 
"  Prospiciens,  summa  placidum  caput  extulit  unda." 

The  battle  we  are  fighting  is  for  national  unity.  The  great 
works  we  are  undertaking  are  for  national  unity.  Confiding  in 
the  justice  of  our  cause,  and  in  the  God  of  justice,  we  shall  win 
the  battle.  And,  entering  upon  these  works  with  an  energy  pro- 
portionate to  their  magnitude,  we  hope  that  when  the  battle  is  won 
we  shall  be  found  prepared  for  a  noble  career,  in  commerce  and 
the  attendant  arts,  and  in  whatever  belongs  to  national  prosperity 
and  national  worth. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  your  ob't  serv't, 

HENRY  P.  TAPPAN. 


166 


FROM  BRIG.  GEN.  WEBSTER, 

Formerly  of  the  Topographical  Engineers  V.  S.  A.  now  of  the  Army  of  the  Mississippi. 

MEMPHIS,  June  3,  1863. 
Hon.  I.  N.  AKNOLD,  Chicago: 

MY  DEAK  SIR  : — I  sincerely  regret  my  inability  to  attend  the 
Canal  Convention.  My  duties  here  do  not  permit  my  absence  at 
present. 

I  need  not  say  how  much  I  hope  for  your  success  in  your  noble 
efforts  to  promote  the  advancement  of  the  great  work  which  is 
the  only  link  wanting  to  complete  the  most  magnificent  line  of 
internal  navigation  and  commercial  and  military  transit,  in  the 
world. 

It  has  been  suggested  to  me,  that  in  my  report  on  this  subject, 
made  last  fall,  I  did  not  fully  indorse  the  reliability  of  the  estimates 
of  Messrs.  Gooding  and  Preston.  I  must  have  failed  to  make 
myself  understood,  for  I  intended  to  express,  what  I  certainly  felt, 
the  utmost  confidence  in  the  full  reliability  of  those  estimates. 
I  am  very  truly,  your  friend  and  servant, 

J.  D.  WEBSTER. 


FROM  HON.  MONTGOMERY  BLAIR, 

Post-Matter  General  of  the  United  States. 

WASHINGTON,  May  30,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN  : — I  regret  that  I  shall  be  unable  to  attend  the  Con- 
vention at  Chicago  on  the  2nd  of  June,  to  consider  the  subject  of 
uniting  the  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi  by  a  ship-canal.  I  feel 
assured,  however,  that  the  interest  awakened  in  that  great  measure 
of  national  defense,  by  the  present  condition  of  public  affairs, 
secures  its  full  elucidation  by  the  statesmen  who  have  called  this 
meeting,  and  by  others  whom  they  have  invited  to  attend. 

I  can  add  nothing  to  the  very  able  views  presented  by  Mr. 
Arnold  in  Congress  last  winter,  and  by  the  Military  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  at  the  preceding  session.  The 
report  of  that  committee  shows  that  an  interior  channel  of  naviga- 
tion is  already  .opened  "from  New  London  to  Beaufort,  N.  C., 
directly  communicating  with  several  of  our  largest  States  and 
cities ;"  that  to  make  this  channel  available  and  safe  for  ship-navi- 
gation in  war,  as  well  as  in  peace,  requires  only  "  an  enlargement 
of  three  short  and  inexpensive  canals  of  the  aggregate  length  of 
but  seventy-eight  and  a  half  miles."  "  That  an  interior  channel 
of  similar  importance  can  be  had  by  means  of  the  Iberville  river, 
and  Lakes  Mannpa,  and  Ponchartrain,  and  Borgne,  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi to  Pensacola;"  "that  this  would  unite  all  the  cities  of  the 
West,  with  all  the  cities  of  the  Gulf,  by  an  interior  and  protected 
channel.  The  cost  of  this  would  be  even  less  than  the  other,  and 
both  might  ultimately  be  extended  so  as  to  become  one.  Thus,  an 
interior  line  of  water-communication  can  be  established  from  New 


167 

Orleans  to  New  York  and  Boston."  Individuals  having  opened 
this  interior  line  along  the  West,  and  the  State  of  New  York  hav- 
ing taken  up  the  plan  of  enlarging  her  canal,  the  Government  of 
this  Union  has  but  to  lend  its  credit  for  the  short  line  between 
Chicago  and  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  to  complete  the  circuit 
of  the  East  and  West  by  inland  navigation.  This  will  not  only 
secure  our  vast  inter-state  commer'ce  during  war,  but  give  protec- 
tion to  all  our  great  harbors  and  cities  by  enabling  us  to  concen- 
trate our  iron-clad  fleet  through  inland  waters  upon  any  one  that 
may  be  threatened,  East,  West,  North  or  South. 

Thanking  you  for  the  consideration  shown  me  by  your  invita- 
tion, I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

M.  BLAIR. 

Messrs.  ROBB  and  others,  Committee  of  Invitation. 


FROM  JOHN  A.  POOR, 

A  Citiaen  of  the  State  of  Maine. 

No.  27  UNION  PLACE,  NEW  YORK, 
May  30,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN  : — I  am  honored  by  your  invitation  to  attend  a  Con- 
vention at  Chicago,  on  the  second  of  June  next,  of  those  in  favor 
of  the  enlargement  of  the  canals  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Atlantic.  And  I  am  further  requested,  in  case  I  cannot  attend 
said  Convention,  to  communicate  my  views  in  writing,  upon  the 
matters  embraced  in  the  call. 

Until  to-day,  I  had  expected  to  have  been  able  to  attend  as  one 
of  the  delegates  of  the  Board  of  Trade  of  Portland,  Maine,  some 
of  whom  are  on  their  way,  and  whose  intelligent  interest  in  the 
success  of  your  efforts  will  faithfully  represent  the  prevailing  opin- 
ions of  our  people. 

Your  call  seems  to  limit  the  object  of  the  Convention  to  the  sin- 
gle purpose  of  an  enlargement  of  the  existing  canals  between  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic  ocean — works  of  obvi- 
ous value,  if  not  all  of  them  of  immediate  necessity — yet,  it  may 
fairly  open  the  entire  question  of  the  internal  commerce  of  the 
country,  and  the  means  of  transit  between  the  grain-producing 
regions  of  the  interior  of  the  continent — the  great  North- West — 
and  their  place  of  market. 

Questions  of  this  character  are  of  interest  to  all,  and  must,  for 
years,  if  not  for  generations  to  come,  become  the  most  engrossing 
topics  of  public  concern  ;  from  the  physical  configuration  of  the 
North  American  continent,  the  limited  capacity  of  its  natural 
channels  of  trade,  and  the  political  difficulties  in  the  way  of  all 
efforts  at  the  opening  of  adequate  avenues,  by  artificial  means,  to 
meet  the  wants  of  a  rapidly  increasing  business. 

Great  as  is  now  the  internal  trade  of  the  country,  it  is  a  little 
only  of  what  it  will,  in  *  t«w  years,  attain  to.  The  production  of 


168 

food  is  not,  at  this  time,  equal  to  one-tenth  of  the  capacity  of  the 
North-western  States,  without  resort  to  the  artificial  stimulants 
that  are  common  in  the  British  Isles.  Besides  this,  one-half  of  all 
the  grain  raised  in  the  United  States  is  produced  at  points  so 
remote  from  market,  that  its  value  would  be  consumed  in  the  mere 
cost  of  transportation  by  the  ordinary  channels.  With  the  aid  of 
all  existing  canals  and  railroads,  a  bushel  of  wheat  in  the  North- 
West  is  only  worth  one-half  its  value  in  Liverpool,  so  enormous  is 
the  cost  of  present  transportation.  The  question  is,  how  shall  this 
difficulty  be  overcome  ?  And  it  is  this  question  alone,  that  will 
engage  the  time  and  thoughts  of  the  members  of  this  Convention. 

It  has  seemed  to  me  that  the  great  difficulty  lies  in  the  way  of 
outlets  from  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  and  other  lake-ports,  rather  than 
in  the  lack  of  means  to  bring  produce  to  the  lake-shores.  Cheaply- 
built  and  economically  worked  lines  of  sailers,  with  other  means 
of  transit,  bring  into  these  great  granaries — the  lake-ports — more 
produce  than  the  outlets  can  economically  take  away. 

What  is  wanted,  are  cheap  and  expeditious  means  of  transit,  from 
the  Upper  Lakes  to  the  open  sea.  To  secure  this  most  effectually, 
we  must  make  the  St.  Lawrence-waters  AN  OPEN  MEDITERRANEAN 
SEA;  so  that,  from  the  head  of  Lake  Superior  and  from  Chicago, 
ships  of  useful  size  for  navigating  the  ocean  can  pass,  free  of 
duty,  and  with  dispatch,  to  the  Atlantic  ports  and  Europe,  and 
backward  to  the  same  places,  fully  laden.  By  this  means,  you 
could  diminish  by  one-half  the  cost  of  transit  for  the  benefit  of 
the  farmers  of  the  North-western  States,  and  indirectly,  for  the 
ad  vantage  of  the  entire  population  of  the  country. 

This  is  a  matter  of  easy  accomplishment,  if  undertaken  in  the 
right  spirit  and  temper.  The  English-speaking  people  of  this 
continent  are,  for  all  commercial  purposes,  one  people^  holding  a 
territory  twice  the  size  of  the  continent  of  Europe,  capable  of  sus- 
taining as  dense  a  population  as  that  which  now  occupies  that  favored 
portion  of  the  globe.  This  territory  is  held  in  nearly  equal  shares 
by  the  people  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  British  North  Amer- 
ican Provinces,  lying  mainly  on  opposite  sides  of  this  great  Med- 
iterranean Sea,  formed  by  the  waters  of  the  Lakes  and  the  St. 
Lawrence. 

The  laws  of  commerce  disregard  political  boundaries,  and  the 
people  of  the  North-West  should  have  their  choice  of  routes  to  the 
open  sea.  Ships  should  load  at  Chicago  for  any  port  into  which 
an  Atlantic  sailer  can  enter,  and  by  so  many  routes  as  can  be  cre- 
ated, from  the  St.  Lawrence,  by  the  way  of  Lake  Champlain,  into 
the  Hudson,  by  the  Ottawa,  and  by  Lake  Ontario.  The  advance 
in  the  price  of  a  single  crop  of  wheat  would  pay  for  making  all 
these  routes,  from  Chicago  to  the  Atlantic,  navigable  for  ocean- 
going sailing-ships  and  steamers.  Montreal  harbor  could  be  made 
for  the  trade  of  New  York,  what  Albany  is  now  ;  and  that  too, 
while  the  St.  Lawrence  basin,  below  the  Victoria  bridge,  should  be 
crowded,  like  the  Thames  in  our  day,  from  London  to  the  sea, 
when  this  continent  is  as  fully  peopled  as  Europe. 


169 

From  Chicago  to  the  Atlantic,  for  nearly  the  whole  distance, 
navigation  is  as  cheap  as  on  the  ocean.  Short  canals  and  lockage 
would  not  detain  ships  more  than  the  average  adverse  winds  of 
the  Atlantic,  so  that  the  transit  of  goods,  to  and  from  Chicago  and 
Liverpool,  would  be  nearly  as  cheap  as  to  and  from  New  York. 
At  one-tenth  of  the  cost  of  transportation  by  railway,  such  a  line 
of  navigation  would  supply  an  outlet  to  the  trade  of  the  North- 
West.  To  transport  a  ton  of  goods,  by  ordinary  highways,  cost8 
on  an  average  twenty  dollars  per  one  hundred  miles.  The  rail- 
roads will  perform  this  service  for  two  dollars,  the  sailing-vessel  for 
one-tenth  of  this,  or  twenty  cents  per  ton.  Open  a  ship- canal  by 
the  way  of  the  St  Lawrence  to  Chicago,  and  the  cost  of  freight 
will  scarcely,  if  at  all,  exceed  the  cost  of  transit  on  the  ocean,  or 
the  Lakes. 

Our  great  difficulties  in  this  country  are  political  ones ;  greater 
than  the  limited  amount  of  capital  in  business.  Public  improve- 
ments are  mainly  dependent  on  local  jurisdictions,  provinces,  or 
States,  governed  rather  by  sectional  aims,  than  by  regard  to  the 
higher  law  of  commercial  convenience.  In  the  United  States, 
nationality  has  scarcely  been  regarded  as  an  object  of  statesman- 
ship, while  State  Governments  have  seized  upon  the  more  valuable 
attributes  of  sovereignty.  The  regulation  of  the  currency  and  of 
the  channels  of  national  commerce  have  been  assumed  by  the 
States,  which  should,  beyond  all  other  matters,  be  under  the  control 
of  the  Government  of  the  Federal  Union. 

To  this  undue  assumption  of  rights  by  the  States,  incompatible 
with  the  National  Sovereignty,  can  be  traced  the  origin  of  the 
present  atrocious  civil  war,  upon  the  part  of  rebellious  States. 
This  war,  however,  has  already  taught  us  a  mode  of  supplying  a 
national  currency  which  will  never  be  superseded — a  discovery 
worth  more  than  the  cost  of  the  war  to  the  present  time.  Should 
it  enable  the  National  Government  to  disregard  political  bounda- 
ries in  the  construction  of  public  works,  looking  only  at  physical 
and  commercial  law,  this  war  may  yet  prove  to  our  nation  a  great 
blessing. 

The  highest  statesmanship  of  our  day  regards  the  English-speak- 
ing people  of  both  hemispheres  as  one  in  purpose  and  in  destiny. 
Such  an  opportunity  for  greatness,  as  that  enjoyed  by  the  head  of 
the  British  ministry,  has  not  before  this  time  been  offered  to  any 
minister  of  State.  He  has  only  to  recognize  the  obvious  duties  of 
consanguinity  and  good  fellowship,  to  make  the  union  of  all  who 
speak  the  English  tongue  complete  in  everything  that  tends  to 
the  advancement  of  civilization,  as  they  are  one  in  purpose  and 
desire.  In  this  spirit  let  us  act.  Let  political  boundaries  form  no 
restraint  upon  commercial  enterprise  ;  and  the  continent,  which  it 
is  our  good  fortune  to  inhabit,  shall  display  exhibitions  of  mate- 
rial greatness  worthy  of  a  superior  race,  descendants  of  the  heroic 
men  who  wrested  this  new  world  from  the  grasp  of  their  less 
enterprising  rivals,  and  planted  over  the  broad  belt  of  the  tern- 


170 

perate  zone,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  seas,  institutions  and 
laws,  favorable  to  commercial  freedom  and  constitutional  liberty. 

If,  however,  the  time  has  not  arrived  when  we  can  treat  the 
English-speaking  people  of  the  continent  as  properly  subject  to 
our  commercial  law — a  result  not  very  far  distant  from  our  day — 
when  an  ocean-tariff  shall  extend  with  uniform  permission,  for  the 
collection  of  duties  from  Quebec  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  upon  the 
Pacific  coast,  with  unrestricted  power  of  internal  trade;  or,  in  other 
words,  if  the  British  North  American  Provinces  are  not  ready  to 
adopt  with  us  an  American  Zoll-  Verin,  we  must  make  use  of  our 
own  independent  advantages.  We  can,  more  cheaply  than  the 
Canadians  have  built  theirs,  construct  a  ship-canal  around  Niagara 
Falls,  and  from  Oswego  to  the  Hudson,  that  shall,  for  years  to 
come,  take  away  from  the  Lakes  the  surplus  produce  of  the  inte- 
rior. We  should  further,  with  the  same  broad  view,  deepen  the 
channel  of  the  St.  Clair,  and  extend  this  water-line,  with  a  capacity 
equal  to  the  passage  of  an  ocean  steamer,  from  Chicago  to  the  nav- 
igable waters  of  the  Mississippi,  so  that  produce  can  pass  by  either 
route  to  the  sea. 

The  people  of  the  great  Republic  of  the  North  American  conti- 
nent have  been  unexpectedly  called  upon  to  deal  with  great 
enterprises,  vast  and  undefinable  in  their  extent ;  and  while  expend- 
ing, without  discontent  or  embarrassment,  large  sums  in  suppress- 
ing insurrection,  and  guarding  against  foreign  invasion,  they  have 
found  time  to  contemplate,  as  necessary  practical  measures,  a 
railway  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Pacific,  and  a  line  of  ocean- 
steamers  from  San  Francisco  to  the  shores  of  the  densely  populated 
continent  of  Asia.  A  further  knowledge  of  the  capacities  of  our 
country  and  of  the  capabilities  of  its  people  will  ensure  for  them 
all  full  and  complete  success. 

With  the  highest  regards,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  A.  POOR. 

To  Messrs.  JAMES  ROBB,  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  HENRY  FARNAM,  and  others,  Com- 
mittee on  Invitations. 


FROM  THE  CORPORATE  AUTHORITIES  OF  THE  CITY 
OF  KEOKUK,  IOWA. 

KEOKUK,  IOWA,  May  22,  1863. 
Messrs.   JAMES  ROBB,  I.  N.    ARNOLD,   and  others,  Committee  of 

Invitation,  Chicago,  111. : 

GENTLEMEN: — Receiving  your  circular  of  April  29,  and  feeling 
a  great  interest  in  the  action  of  the  Convention  to  assemble  in  your 
city  on  the  second  proximo,  our  City  Council,  representing  the  in- 
terests of  our  community,  and  vicinity,  passed  the  following: 

"Whereas,  There  has  been  a  call  made  for  a  National  Convention,  to  meet  in 
Chicago,  on  Tuesday,  June  2nd,  1863,  to  consider  the  enlargement  of  the  canals, 
between  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic  ; 


171 

Resolved,  That  the  City  Council  of  the  city  of  Keokuk,  appoint  a  Committee  of 
Communication,  consisting  of  two  members,  the  Mayor  to  be  chairman,  to  commu- 
nicate with  said  Convention,  expressing  our  views  of  the  importance  and  necessity  of 
said  enlargtmtnt." 

The  object  of  the  Convention,  as  we  understand  it,  is  the  enlarge- 
ment of  facilities  for  transportation  from  the  North- West  to  tide- 
water, and  the  construction  of  a  ship-canal,  at  Federal  expense, 
from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi  river;  both  of  which  objects 
we  regard  as  important  and  necessary.  The  first  meets  our 
earnest  approval,  and  we  believe,  that,  by  enlarging  the  locks  upon 
the  Erie,  Oswego,  and  Welland  canals,  the  present  commercial 
necessities  of  that  portion  of  the  West,  from  your  city  eastward, 
will  be  attained,  as  to  eastward  transportation;  and  we  cannot 
doubt  that  New  York  and  Canada  will  grant  this  demand.  As  we 
lie  west  of  that  improvement,  we  necessarily  feel  a  more  vital  inter- 
est in  the  extension  of  such  transportation  facilities  from  your  city 
to  the  Mississippi  river. 

As  a  military  measure,  we  cannot  commend  it  too  strongly  to 
the  General  Government.  Should  our  present  struggle,  for  the 
sustaining  of  our  Government  against  domestic  foes,  and  the  over- 
throw of  this  unholy  rebellion,  lead  us  into  difficulty  on  questions 
of  comity  and  international  law,  with  foreign  powers,  the  impor- 
tance, utility,  and  necessity  of  free  water-communication  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi  river  would  be  felt  by  all.  In  view 
of  this,  which,  to  say  the  least,  at  times  looks  threatening,  shall 
we,  supinely,  as  a  people,  await  such  a  result  before  realizing  such 
a  necessity  ?  Against  such  a  course  we  strongly  protest. 

As  a  commercial  measure,  it  has  our  hearty  commendation.  We 
regard  it  as  a  more  important  improvement,  for  the  benefit  of  our 
commerce,  than  any  ever  before  projected  in  this  country,  since  the 
formation  of  our  government — one  that  is  of  vital  interest  to  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  the  North- West.  As  we  of  the  North- 
West  are  purely  an  agricultural  people,  (outside  of  our  large  cities, 
where  manufacturing  is  done  only  to  a  very  limited  extent),  we 
appreciate  fully  the  necessity  of  water-communication  with  the  sea- 
board. And  while  our  railroads,  as  some  may  urge,  afford  us  lim- 
ited facilities,  we  are  sorry  to  have  it  to  say,  it  is  at  such  rates  of 
transportation  as  almost  amounts  to  restriction.  We  heartily  com- 
mend all  that  is  contemplated  in  the  second  proposition,  and  cannot 
urge  too  strongly  upon  your  Convention,  the  importance  and  ne- 
cessity of  a  ship-canal  from  Chicago  to  the  Mississippi  river. 

Trusting  you  may  have  a  large  representation  in  your  Conven- 
tion, and  it  may  not  prove  in  vain  that  you  have  thus  assembled, 
we  are 

Yours,  very  respectfully, 

GEO.  B.  SMYTH,  MAYOR, 
C.  F.  DAVIS, 

Commitiet. 


172 


FROM  HOK  E.  JACKSON, 

A  Citizen  of  the  State  of  Connecticut. 

MIDDLE-TOWN,  CONN.,  May  19,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN: — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  invitation  to  attend  the  Convention  to  be  held  at  Chicago,  on 
the  second  of  June  next ;  and  deeply  regret  that  the  infirm  state 
of  my  health  deprives  me  of  so  great  a  pleasure. 

In  obedience  solely  to  your  request  for  my  opinion,  I  cheerfully 
add  my  humble  voice  to  the  unanimous  approval,  which,  I  have  no 
doubt,  awaits  this  great  and  magnificent  project.  It  truly  repre- 
sents the  spirit  of  the  age,  which  encounters,  undiscouraged,  the 
greatest  natural  obstacles,  and  subdues  the  elements  themselves  to 
the  service  of  man.  Its  immense  results,  social,  commercial,  and 
political,  no  human  foresight  can  reach  ;  and,  if  ever  completed,  it 
will  be  worthy  of  as  solemn  annual  commemoration,  as  that  by 
which  the  Venitian  Republic  proclaimed  its  dominion  over  the  sea. 
Very  respectfully,  your  ob't  serv't, 

E.  JACKSON. 

Messrs.  JAMES  ROBB,  and  others,  Committee,  Chicago. 


FROM  HOK  J.  W.  LONGYEAR, 

A  Member  elect  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  the  State  of  Michigan. 

LANSING,  MICH.,  May  28,  1863. 
Messrs.  JAMES  ROBB,  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  and  others,  Committee,  etc. : 

Your  circular  letter  of  29th  April,  ult.,  came  in  my  absence 
from  home,  and  is  now  before  me. 

I  shall  do  myself  the  pleasure  to  accept  your  kind  invitation, 
and  hope  that  much  good  may  arise  out  of  the  deliberations  of  the 
Convention,  and  that  such  measures  may  be  devised,  as  will  really 
"tend  to  promote  the  development,  security,  and  unity,  of  the 
whole  country." 

Respectfully,  etc., 

JOHN  W.  LONGYEAR. 


FROM  J.  S.  C.  KNOWLTON,  ESQ., 

A  Citizen  of  the  State  of  Massachuxette. 

PALLADIUM  OFFICE,  WORCESTER,  MASS., 
May,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN: — It  would  give  me  the  greatest  pleasure,  if  it 
were  in  my  power,  to  be  present,  as  a  listener  and  observer,  in 
the  proposed  Internal  Improvement  Convention  at  Chicago.  Our 
first  great  work  is  to  put  down  the  rebellion,  and  vindicate  the 
right  of  the  Government  to  exist  as  a  Government.  When  that 
shall  have  been  done,  there  will  then  remain  the  paramount  duty 


m 

of  so  arranging  and  perfecting  all  the  internal  and  external  rela- 
tions of  the  country,  that  it  shall  be  placed  forever  beyond  the 
contingency  of  another  rebellion — another  war  of  sections  upon 
each  other — another  subversion  of  our  great  industrial  aims  and 
purposes — another  sacrifice  in  civil  war,  of  the  gains  and  accumu- 
lations of  our  industry. 

But  all  of  us  cannot  go  into  active  service  in  support  of  the  war; 
and,  therefore,  there  is  no  reason  why  all  such,  as  are  of  necessity 
out  of  the  field  of  strife,  should  not  give  attention  to  such  plans, 
projects,  and  measures  contemplated,  as,  if  perfected,  will  bind 
the  Union  more  closely  together ;  and  while  preserving  all  the  parts 
in  their  integrity,  will  give  an  impulse  to  larger  and  still  larger 
development.  If  this  country  is  ever  to  be  destroyed,  and  to  be 
plunged  into  the  dark  pathway  of  the  vanished  nations,  it  will  not 
be  done  by  outward  assailments,  but  by  a  destructive  warfare  of 
sections  of  clans,  of  clubbists  in  interests  as  well  as  in  passions, 
wasting  each  other  in  unnecessary,  because  unnatural,  struggles. 
One  of  the  most  potent  means  that  can  be  employed  to  avert  such 
disasters,  in  future,  is  your  proposition  to  enlarge  and  multiply  the 
facilities  of  communication  between  the  great  interior  and  the 
ocean  coasts.  Whoever  looks  over  the  map  of  the  United  States 
will  see  the  evidences  of  such  natural  adjustment  of  the  several 
parts  of  the  Union  to  each  other,  that  he  will  be  ready  to  pro- 
nounce, in  the  words  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  that  they  were  designed 
for  '•'•one  country,  one  constitution,  one  destiny!" 

The  rugged,  and  comparatively  sterile  coasts  of  the  country — 
especially  of  the  Northern  States — need  the  facilities  for  a  speedy 
and  intimate  communication  with  the  rich,  fertile,  and  productive 
lands  of  the  interior.  The  great  necessity  of  the  West  is  a  mar- 
ket. Both  sections  are  essential  to  each  other.  We  of  the  East 
need  the  grains  which  you  of  the  West  produce ;  and  you  of  the 
West  need  all  the  markets  you  can  find  for  your  abundant  products; 
for  with  you,  while  there  is  no  limit  to  your  supplies  of  food,  you 
will  see  to  it  also,  that  there  is  no  restriction  upon  the  demand  for 
those  supplies.  Western  men,  who  talk  of  "  leaving  New  England 
out  in  the  cold"  may  be  asked  to  state  their  proposition  in  another 
form — that  of  planting  so  many  acres  of  corn  the  less,  as  New 
England  consumes,  and  of  reducing  the  amount  of  their  produce, 
in  just  the  extent  of  the  demands  made  for  it,  in  her  market. 

We  hear  much  said,  and  we  talk  much  ourselves,  of  the  great 
natural  outlet  of  the  magnificent  Valley  of  the  West,  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  and  its  80  to  100  tributaries  and  bayous — all  employed 
in  promoting  a  most  healthful  communication  between  the  interior 
points  and  the  exterior  lines  of  this  great  and  growing  empire, 
whose  destiny,  it  is  scarcely  too  much  to  hope  or  believe,  is  the 
development  and  roun ding-out,  in  their  full  proportions,  of  the 
industry  of  freedom,  and  the  intellectual  and  moral  elevation  and 
improvement  of  the  race  as  individuals  and  in  communities; 
so  that  it  shall  be  an  empire  of  MEX,  and  not  alone  of  material 
interests. 


174 

Monopolies  are  adverse  to  the  spirit  of  our  institutions.  None 
of  us  want  to  be  limited  to  one  dull  routine,  either  of  business  or 
of  enjoyment.  Freedom  of  choice,  the  cheapest  production,  and 
the  readiest  sale,  are  the  rules  of  industrial  success ;  and  equally 
true  is  the  declaration,  that  '•''two  markets  are  better  than  one" 
We  of  the  East  have  our  manufacturing  and  commercial  centres; 
and  you  of  the  West  have  your  agricultural  and  mercantile  cen- 
tres. The  relations  of  these  centres  to  each  other  are  those  of 
mutuality,  and  their  action,  one  upon  another,  is  that  of  reciprocity. 
It  is,  and  must  be  a  great  question  in  political  economy,  how  to 
bring  these  centres,  as  representatives  of  great  communities  around 
them,  into  the  easiest  and  quickest  action,  without  any  jarring 
collisions  of  interest  or  of  passion.  The  city  of  Chicago,  sitting 
in  queenly  majesty,  by  the  side  of  an  internal  sea,  out  of  whose 
placid  waters  the  sun  seems  to  shoot  its  morning  beams,  is  one  of 
the  most  important  of  these  great  agricultural  and  mercantile  cen- 
tres. Situated,  as  it  is,  at  the  most  southern  point  of  the  great 
system  of  northern  lakes  and  rivers,  it  must  be,  for  one-half  of  the 
year,  the  common  highway  for  the  trade  and  travel  between  the 
populous  East  and  the  great  region  that  lies  beyond  Lake  Michi- 
gan, and  ai'ound  Superior;  and  will  continue  to  be,  when  the  Atlan- 
tic and  Pacific  shall  be  bound  together  with  bands  of  iron,  for  com- 
merce between  Western  Europe  and  the  great  Eastern  Empires  of 
China  and  Japan. 

If  the  Mississippi  river  is  so  far  the  cheapest  and  best  communi- 
cation with  the  Ocean,  as  to  be  regarded  as  a  monopoly,  why  is  it 
that  we  see  upon  every  modern  map  of  the  United  States,  long 
lines  of  railway,  stretching  towards  various  points  of  the  Upper 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  from  the  ports  of  New  Orleans,  and  Mo- 
bile, Charleston,  and  Savannah  ?  What  is  the  purpose  of  these 
railways,  and  what  are  they  reaching  after?  There  can  be  but 
one  answer  to  the  question.  The  South  wants  to  drain  the  great 
Mississippi  Basin  of  its  vast  wealth  of  agricultural  and  mineral 
products,  and  it  feels  the  necessity  of  possessing  itself  of  them 
in  a  shorter  and  more  expeditious  manner,  than  by  the  slow  and 
circuitous  route  of  the  Mississippi  river,  giant  as  it  is  among  rivers, 
for  the  heavy  burdens  it  bears.  The  East  also  has  its  railways 
grappling  the  Mississippi  Valley ;  but  it  feels  that  something  more 
is  wanted,  as  of  '•'•great  national,  commercial,  and  military  im- 
portance to  the  country"  It  has  the  advantage  of  thousands  of 
miles  in  the  route  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Ocean  and  to  Europe. 
That  is  not  enough ;  it  wants  a  cheap  as  well  as  an  expeditious 
route.  It  wants  a  WATER  track  as  well  as  an  IRON  track,  and  for 
the  simple  reason,  that  while  the  cost  of  the  iron  track,  originally 
and  continuously,  is,  of  necessity,  an  immense  expenditure,  the 
water  track,  when  once  constructed,  never  icears  out.  The  differ- 
ence in  the  expense  of  operating  the  two  routes  is  manifestly 
great. 

While  railways  between  the  East  and  the  West  will  always  be 
preferred  for  travel  and  for  light  and  quick  freight,  a  water-commu- 


1T5 

nication  intermediate  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  St.  Lawrence 
direct,  easy,  and  of  sufficient  capacity  for  large  operations,  both  in 
peace  and  in  war,  seems  to  have  been  left,  by  Divine  Providence, 
for  the  employment  of  the  inventive  genius,  the  constructive  skill, 
the  industrial  power,  of  a  great  people,  whose  progress  is  to  be 
attained  by  a  combined  force  of  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral 
activities. 

I  have  no  means  of  judging  of  the  feasibility  of  the  plans  of 
improvement  which  are  in  contemplation,  nor  their  cost,  nor  of 
the  extent  to  which  such  improvement  would  be  generally,  or  even 
locally  useful.  I  only  know  the  general  fact,  that  we  want,  if  we 
can  have  it,  an  ample  WATER-COMMUNICATION,  over  the  shortest 
route  possible^  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  sea-ports  of  the 
East. 

A  slight  survey  of  the  great  physical  features  of  the  United 
States  is  an  assurance  that  "the  development,  prosperity,  and 
unity  of  our  whole  country,"  should  be  the  ambition  alike  of  East 
and  West,  of  North  and  South;  since  every  consideration  of  na- 
tional progress,  strength,  and  unity  urges  the  whole  people  as  with 
an  irresistible  logic  to  find  their  highest  prosperity  and  happiness 
in  a  common  brotherhood  of  sentiments,  of  rights,  of  duties,  and 
of  obligations. 

Very  respectfully, 

J.  S.  C.  KNOWLTON. 

JAMES  ROBB,  Esq.,  and  others,  Committee  of  Citizens  of  Chicago. 


FROM  J.  W.  BEEKMAN, 

A  Oitiaen  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

NEW  YORK,  May  29,  1863. 

MY  DEAR  SIR: — Very  greatly  to  my  regret,  I  find  myself  com- 
pelled, unexpectedly,  to  abandon  my  visit  to  Chicago  to-day.  I 
had  written  to  you,  some  days  ago,  to  say  that  I  hoped  to  be  at 
the  Sherman  House  on  Monday  night. 

The  object  of  your  proposed  Canal  Convention  is  of  great  mo- 
ment to  New  York.  Before  the  construction  of  our  Erie  canal, 
the  cost  of  transporting  a  ton  of  freight  between  Buffalo  and  Al- 
bany was  one  hundred  dollars,  and  the  time  of  transit  was  twenty 
days.  In  1858,  a  ton  of  merchandise  was  moved  from  Buffalo  to 
Albany  for  two  dollars  and  eighty  cents.  In  1862  the  cost  was 
materially  less.  The  quantity  of  merchandise  moving  upon  the 
canal  is  already  reckoned  by  millions  of  tons.  We  ought  not  to  be 
content  until  our  connection  with  the  great  wheat-producing  West 
is  as  free  as  it  is  now  between  Albany  and  New  York.  This  city 
could  well  afford  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  cost  of  still  further 
enlarging  the  canal,  to  a  dimension  that  would  admit  a  Chicago 
propeller  to  pass  direct  between  the  two  cities. 

Every  public  work,  which  brings  the  market  home  to  the  farm,  is 


176 

an  universal  blessing.  We  shall  not  be  always  at  war.  Armed 
gun-boats  and  iron-clads  may  traverse  water-ways  which  peaceful 
commerce  has  developed,  but  peaceful  commerce  must  be  our  aim. 
Whatever  legislation  shall  bring  to  the  wheat-grower  in  the  West, 
a  larger  share  of  the  price  his  wheat  commands  in  Liverpool,  is 
wise  legislation.  The  forwarder  thrives  better  upon  a  great  deal  of 
traffic,  at  a  low  price,  during  a  long  time,  than  upon  the  short 
spasms  of  energetic  business,  at  very  high  rates,  which  the  costli- 
ness of  transportation  now  creates. 

Rest  assured,  our  interests  are  identical.  If  the  freight  of  a 
bushel  of  wheat,  between  your  city  and  ours,  could  be  reduced  to 
twenty  cents,  leaving  eighty  cents  for  the  farmer,  and  some  twenty 
for  your  merchants,  we  should  gain  as  much  at  the  East  as  you 
could. 

In  every  view  of  the  object  you  aim  at,  you  ought  to  succeed. 
Nothing  is  more  patriotic  than  to  promote  intercourse  between 
eastern  and  western  states  and  cities.  Nothing  tends  more  pow- 
erfully to  make  us  one — one  in  hatred  of  the  vile  conspiracy  of 
ambitious  men,  which  is  striving  to  ruin  our  country,  and  to  blast 
the  hopes  of  freedom  the  world  over,  and  one  in  heart  and  power 
to  put  down  traitors,  than  internal  improvements. 
Sincerely  and  respectfully  yours, 

JAMES  W.  BEEKMAN. 
JAMES  ROBB,  Esq.,  Chairman,  etc. 


FROM  JEDEDIAH  JEWETT,  ESQ., 

Collector  of  the  port  of  Portland,  Maine. 

CUSTOM-HOUSE,  PORTLAND, 
COLLECTOR'S  OFFICE,  May  9th,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN: — Your  invitation  to  attend  the  National  Conven- 
tion, which  is  to  be  held  in  Chicago,  on  the  second  day  of  June 
next,  has  been  received  by  me.  While  acknowledging  with 
thanks  its  receipt,  I  am  happy  also  to  state,  that  the  Board  of 
Trade  of  Portland  has  already  voted  to  send  delegates  to  that  Con- 
vention, and  that  a  number,  not  less  than  ten,  will  be  present  from 
this  city. 

We  hope  to  see  several  of  our  sister  cities  in  Maine  also  repre- 
sented; for,  although  our  State,  occupying  as  it  does  a  frontier 
position,  would  be  less  benefited  by  lines  of  intercommunication, 
than  many  of  her  more  central  sisters,  yet,  we  feel  that  the  State, 
the  corporation,  or  the  individual,  which,  in  this  hour  of  attempted 
disunion  opposes  from  selfish  ends  the  construction  of  new  lines 
of  traffic  and  transit,  that  shall  bind  together  more  intimately  the 
various  States  of  our  beloved  Union,  will  be  equally  execrated  by 
posterity,  with  the  memory  of  that  distinguished  son  of  the  South 
who,  blessed  with  the  tripple  gift  of  genius,  statesmanship  and 
eloquence,  illiberally  enfolded  them  all  within  the  boundaries  of 


177 

his  own  State — South  Carolina — and  taught  his  followers  to  nourish 
and  inculcate  the  selfish  dogma  of  "State  Rights,"  which  has  now 
culminated  in  secession,  rebellion,  and  war;  and  that,  too,  against 
a  Government  which  has  been  even  more  than  maternal  in  her 
exactions  and  indulgences. 

Having  been  chosen  one  of  the  Delegates  from  Portland,  I  ex- 
pect to  have  the  pleasure,  with  ray  associates,  of  being  present  at 
the  Convention,  on  the  second  day  of  June  next. 

I  am,  with  much  respect,  your  ob't  servant, 

JEDEDIAH  JEWETT. 

To  Messrs.  JAMES  ROBB,  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  and  others,  Committee  of  Invitation 
for  the  National  Convention,  Chicago,  Illinois. 


FROM  HON.  JOHN  WELLS, 

A  Citizen  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  May  25,  1863. 
Messrs.  JAMES  ROBB,  WM.  BKOSS,  and  others : 

I  have  just  received  your  very  kind  letter  of  the  19th  inst.  June 
is  a  very  busy  month  with  me,  and  I  shall  not  be  able  to  leave 
home  long  enough  to  attend  the  Convention  at  Chicago.  I  am 
sorry,  for  I  should  enjoy  another  visit  there  very  highly,  and  I  am 
very  deeply  interested  in  the  advancement  of  the  internal  improve- 
ments which  the  Convention  is  called  to  promote. 

With  the  experiences  of  the  last  two  years,  and  the  threatening 
aspect  of  our  foreign  relations,  as  warnings  to  us,  it  is  strange  that 
there  should  be  any  difference  of  opinion  or  purpose,  as  to  the  true 
policy  of  our  Government  in  regard  to  internal  means  of  commu- 
nication and  transportation.  But,  "  will  it  bring  grist  to  my  mill?" 
is  apt  to  be  the  inquiry,  which  settles  the  course  of  too  many  of 
our  people,  especially  of  politicians. 

JOHN  WELLS. 


FROM  B.  B.  FRENCH,  ESQ., 

Commissioner  of  Public  Buildings,  Washington. 

OFFICE  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS, 
CAPITOL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

WASHINGTON  CITY,  May  27,  1863. 
To  the  COMMITTEE  ON  INVITATIONS,  Chicago,  111. : 

GENTLEMEN: — I  had  the  honor  to  receive,  sometime  since,  your 
polite  invitation  to  be  present  at  the  great  Convention  which  is  to 
assemble  at  Chicago  on  Tuesday  next.  It  would  give  me  great 
satisfaction  to  comply  with  your  request,  but  my  official  duties 
here  forbid  it ;  and  they  have  been  of  such  a  nature  recently,  as  to 

12 


178 

prevent  me  from  devoting  a  little  time,  as  I  intended,  to  a  reply  to 
your  request  for  my  "  views  in  writing." 

I  have  only  time  now  to  say,  that  while  the  bill  authorizing  the 
construction  of  a  ship-canal  upon  the  site  of  the  present  Illinois 
and  Michigan  canal  was  pending  in  the  House  of  Representatives  I 
took  considerable  interest  in  the  able,  and  somewhat  sharp  discus- 
sions upon  the  subject.  I  read  the  very  able  and  interesting 
report,  made  from  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  by  Hon.  F,  P. 
Blair,  Jr.,  in  February,  1862,  and  I  was  convinced, beyond  a  doubt, 
of  the  deep  policy  as  well  as  great  necessity  of  carrying  out,  as 
soon  as  practicable,  the  vast  improvement  advocated  in  that  report. 

It  would  be  a  work  of  supererogation,  if  I  had  the  time,  for  me 
to  go  into  the  history  of  the  initiation,  progress,  and,  as  I  viewed 
it,  unfortunate  conclusion  of  that  magnificent  effort  to  encompass 
this  Union  with  what  an  enthusiastic  and  eminent  friend  of  mine 
of  enlarged  views,  denominates  "  a  hoop  of  iron  that  will  hold 
it  together  forever."  The  failure,  I  hope  and  believe  was  only 
temporary;  and  when  a  renewed  effort,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
great  assemblage  of  patriots  and  statesmen  at  your  city,  on  Tues- 
day next,  shall  be  made,  no  true  patriot  can  doubt  that  it  will  be 
successful.  That  it  may  be  so,  any  proper  effort  that  I  can  make 
shall  not  be  wanting. 

This  brief  letter  has  been  written  amid  many  interruptions, 
and  is  not  what  it  ought  to  be ;  but,  with  a  heart  and  soul  in  the 
project,  I  trust  the  Committee  will  excuse  further  words,  and  look 
to  future  acts  on  my  part,  which  the  old  adage  quaintly  says  "are 
stronger  than  words !" 

With  earnest  wishes  for  the  ultimate  success  of  the  vast  and 
eminently  important  project  which  you  are  to  consider,  • 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

B.  B.  FRENCH. 

Messrs.  J.  W.  SMITH,  and  others,  of  the  Committee. 


FROM  HON.  ROBERT  J.  WALKER, 

Formerly  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

CORK,  IRELAND,  April  18,  1863. 
Hon.  ISAAC  N".  ARNOLD.  M.  C.,  Chicago,  111.: 

DEAR  SIR  : — Here  I  am  in  this  beautiful  city,  in  glorious  old 
Ireland,  so  many  of  whose  gjillant  sons  have  fallen  in  our  defense, 
and  thousands  more  of  whom  now  fight  the  battles  of  our  country. 
When  I  think  of  Shields,  and  Meagher,  and  Corcoran,  and  their 
brave  associates,  shedding  their  blood  that  the  Union  may  live  ; 
when  I  feel  myself  surrounded  here  by  friends  of  my  country,  and 
realize  how  fervently  all  Ireland  desires  our  success,  my  heart 
swells  with  gratitude  for  this  noble  race,  and  my  prayers  are,  that 
Providence  would  crown  them  with  every  blessing. 


179 

When  you  received  my  promise  to  attend  as  a  delegate  the  Chi- 
cago Canal  Convention,  little  was  it  then  supposed  by  me,  that 
duty  would  call  me  before  that  time  to  Europe.  So  much  of  my 
promise,  however,  as  embraced  the  discussion  of  the  question,  will 
now  be  redeemed.  The  project  of  an  enlarged  thorough-cut  canal, 
uniting  Chicago  and  the  Lakes,  with  the  Illinois  river  and  Mis- 
sissippi, has  long  attracted  my  attention.  As  a  Senator  of  the 
United  States,  for  many  years,  from  a  South-western  State,  then 
devoted  to  the  Union,  and  elected  to  the  Senate  on  that  question, 
I  have  often  passed  near  or  over  the  contemplated  route,  always 
concluding  that  this  great  work  should  be  accomplished  without 
delay.  Every  material  interest  of  our  whole  country  demands  the 
construction  of  this  canal,  and  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union  is 
closely  identified  with  its  completion.  It  is  for  the  nation's  benefit, 
and  should  be  the  nation's  work.  It  will  give  new  outlets  to  the 
Mississippi,  through  the  Lakes,  to  the  Ocean,  and  neutralize  that 
too  exclusive  attraction  of  Western  commerce  to  the  Gulf,  which 
has  so  often  menaced  the  integrity  of  the  Union.  We  must  make 
the  access  from  the  Mississippi,  through  the  Lakes  to  the  Ocean, 
as  cheap,  and  easy,  and  eventually  as  free  from  tax  or  toll,  as  to 
the  Gulf,  and  the  flag  of  disunion  will  never  float  again  over  an 
acre  of  the  soil,  or  a  drop  of  all  the  waters  of  the  mighty  West. 

It  is  clear  that,  centuries  ago,  the  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi 
were  united,  through  the  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  rivers,  and  we 
must  remove  the  obstructions,  now  divorcing  their  waters,  and 
restore  their  union,  by  thorough-cut  canals.  In  a  few  years,  the 
saving  of  transportation,  in  a  single  year,  would  more  than  pay  the 
cost  of  the  work.  The  increase  of  population,  wealth,  products, 
imports,  exports,  and  revenue,  which  would  follow  the  completion 
of  this  work,  can  scarcely  now  be  estimated,  and  it  should  be 
accomplished,  if  for  no  other  reason,  as  a  most  profitable  invest- 
ment of  capital  for  the  benefit  of  the  nation. 

But  great  as  is  the  importance  of  these  enlarged  canals,  uniting 
the  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  rivers  with  the  Lakes,  other  great 
works,  connecting  with  the  East,  are  indispensable,  as  the  enlarged 
locks  of  the  Erie,  Champlain,  Black  river,  Syracuse,  and  Oswego, 
Cayuga,  Seneca,  Chemung,  and  Elmira  to  the  Pennsylvania  State 
line,  Rochester,  and  Alleghany  river.  Nearly  all  of  these  are 
seventy  feet  wide  and  seven  feet  deep,  and  require  only  an 
enlargement  of  the  locks,  whilst  a  few  require  to  be  widened  and 
deepened.  The  Chemung  canal  connects  the  Susquehanna  with 
the  Erie  canal,  at  Montezuma,  and  the  Chenango  is  nearly  com- 
pleted to  the  north  branch  of  the  Susquehanna  at  the  Pennsylvania 
State  line,  whence,  the  Susquehanna  canal  passes  through  Wilkes- 
barre,  Northumberland,  Middleton,  and  Wrightsvilie,  to  Havre  de 
Grace,  in  Maryland,  on  tide-water,  at  the  head  of  the  Chesapeake 
Bay.  The  great  canal,  from  the  southern  boundary  of  New  York, 
down  the  Susquehanna  to  tide-water,  is  now  five  feet  deep,  and 
from  forty  to  fifty  feet  wide,  and  can  be  readily  enlarged  to  the 
dimensions  of  the  Erie  canal.  With  these  works  thus  enlarged, 


180 

the  connection  of  the  Lakes  would  not  only  be  complete  with  the 
Hudson,  and  by  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  canal  with  the  Dela- 
ware, and  by  the  Delaware  and  Chesapeake  canal  with  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay,  but  also  by  the  direct  route,  down  the  Susquehanna,  to 
Baltimore,  Norfolk,  and  Albemarle  sound.  Is  not  this  truly 
national,  and  is  it  not  equally  beneficial,  to  the  East,  and  the  West, 
to  open  all  these  routes  for  large  steamers?  The  system, however, 
would  not  be  complete,  without  uniting  Champlain  with  the  St. 
Lawrence,  Ontario  with  Erie,  and  Huron  and  Michigan  with 
Superior. 

The  enlarged  works  should  also  be  provided  through  Wisconsin, 
Indiana,  Ohio,  and  Western  Pennsylvania,  to  the  Lakes,  to  the 
extent  that  these  canals  can  be  made  of  the  dimensions  of  the 
Erie,  and  supplied  with  water.  Nor  should  we  forget  the  widen- 
ing of  the  canal  at  Louisville,  the  removal  of  obstructions  in  the 
St.  Clair  flats,  and  Upper  Mississippi,  and  the  deepening  of  the 
mouth  of  this  great  river.  The  construction  of  these  works 
would  be  costly,  but  as  a  mere  investment  of  capital,  for  the  in- 
ci*ease  of  our  wealth  and  revenue,  they  would  pay  the  nation  ten- 
fold. 

As  the  main  object  of  these  works  is  cheap  transportation,  the 
tolls  should  be  diminished,  as  the  works  were  completed,  to  the 
full  extent,  that  freight  could  be  carried  more  cheaply  in  large 
boats,  and  provision  should  be  made  for  an  adequate  sinking-fund, 
so  as  gradually  to  liquidate  the  whole  cost,  and  then  collect  no 
more  tolls  than  would  pay  to  keep  the  works  in  repair.  Such  is 
the  true  interest  of  the  States  and  the  nation.  If  New  York 
could  collect  a  toll  for  navigating  the  Hudson,  it  would  be  against 
her  interest,  for  the  diminution  and  diversion  of  business,  and  tax 
on  labor  and  products,  would  far  exceed  the  net  proceeds  of  any 
such  toll.  The  same  principle  will  apply  to  these  canals.  As  some 
of  them,  unfortunately,  are  owned  by  private  companies,  adequate 
provision  should  be  made  to  prevent  these  aids  from  being  per- 
verted to  purposes  of  individual  speculation.  The  Erie  and 
Ontario  canal,  at  the  falls  of  Niagara,  and  the  Superior,  Huron, 
and  Michigan  canal  (less  than  a  mile  long,)  at  the  Falls  of  St. 
Mary,  should  be  made  ship-canals,  much  larger  than  those  of 
Canada. 

The  cost  of  all  these  works  may  exceed  $100,000,000,  but  the 
admirable  financial  system  of  Mr.  Secretary  Chase,  would  soon 
supply  abundant  means  for  their  construction.  Already  the  price 
of  gold  has  fallen  largely,  our  legal  tenders  are  being  funded,  by 
millions,  in  the  Secretary's  favorite  5-20  sixes,  and  we  shall  soon 
have,  under  his  system,  a  sound,  uniform,  national  currency,  bind- 
ing every  State  and  citizen  to  the  Union,  and  fraught  ultimately 
witli  advantages  to  the  nation,  equal  to  the  whole  expense  of  the 
war. 

In  passing  down  the  Susquehanna  canal,  at  Middletown,  com- 
mences the  canal,  which,  by  way  of  Reading  and  the  Schuylkill, 
connects  Philadelphia  with  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Lakes.  Most 


181 

of  this  work  is  already  six  feet  deep,  but  the  whole  route,  if  practi- 
cable, should  be  enlarged  to  the  dimensions  of  the  Erie  canal. 

I  have  met  in  the  British  Museum  some  documents  showing  the 
original  project  (absurdly  abandoned)  for  a  large  canal  from  the 
Schuylkill  to  the  Susquehanna.  A  slight  change  will  restore  this 
work,  and  give  to  Philadelphia  a  complete  seven-foot  canal,  via 
the  Schuylkill  and  Susquehanna,  to  the  Lakes,  as  short  as  from  New 
York,  and  through  a  richer  country,  both  mineral  and  agricultural. 
It  appears  that  Washington  and  Franklin  both  favored  this  route. 

1.  Gun-boats,  and  large  commercial  steamers  could  then   pass, 
without  interruption,  through  all  the  lakes,  to  the  St.   Lawrence, 
the  Hudson,  the  Delaware,   Susquehanna,  Chesapeake  Bay,  Albe- 
marle  Sound,  the  Ohio,  and  Mississippi. 

2.  In  case  of  war,  foreign  or  domestic,  the  saving  to  the  Gov- 
ernment in  prices  of  articles  they  must  buy,  and  in  transportation 
of  men,   munitions  of  war,    supplies,    and  coal,  would  be    enor- 
mous.    It  is  believed  that  the  excess  of  cost  in  prices  and  trans- 
portation during  this  rebellion,  occasioned  by  the  want  of  these 

Works,  WOULD    MORE  THAN"   PAY  FOB  THEIR  CONSTRUCTION".       Nor  IS 

this  the  only  loss,  but  victories  no  doubt  have  often  been  turned 
into  defeats,  for  the  want  of  proper  facilities  for  the  movement  of 
gun-boats,  of  supplies,  and  munitions,  and  the  rapid  concentration 
of  troops  and  reinforcements. 

3.  The  ability  to  obtain  supplies,  and  coal  and  vessels,  from  so 
many  points,  and  especially  gun-boats,  where  the  coal,  iron,  and 
fixtures  are  in  juxtaposition,  would  hasten  construction,  and  cheapen 
prices  to  the  Government. 

The  enormous  naval  and  military  power,  gained  by  such  works, 
would  tend  greatly  to  prevent  wars,  foreign  or  domestic,  or,  if 
they  did  occur,  would  enable  us  to  conduct  them  with  more  econo- 
my and  success.  It  is  said  such  vessels  can  be  built  on  the  Lakes, 
and  so  they  can,  for  lake  defense,  but  they  would  be  liable  to  cap- 
ture or  destruction  there,  before  completed,  by  the  enemy,  and  iron 
vessels  and  iron-dads  could  not  be  constructed  so  cheaply  where 
there  is  neither  coal  nor  iron,  as  in  regions  like  the  Delaware,  Sus- 
quehanna, Alleghany,  and  Ohio,  where  these  great  articles  abound, 
and  can  be  used  on  the  spot,  with  so  much  economy. 

It  must  be  remembered,  also,  that, if  these  iron  steamers  and  iron- 
clads are  constructed  on  the  seaboard  or  the  lakes,  still  the  iron 
and  coal  for  building  them,  and  the  coal  for  running  them,  could 
be  supplied  much  more  cheaply,  if  these  enlarged  canals  were 
finished.  Besides,  events  are  now  occurring,  and  may  again,  in  our 
history,  requiring  the  immediate  construction  of  hundreds  of  iron 
vessels,  rams,  iron-clads  and  mortar  boats,  calling  for  all  the  works 
on  the  seaboard,  the  Lakes,  the  Western  rivers,  and  enlarged  canals, 
to  furnish,  in  time,  the  requisite  number.  Rapid  concentration  of 
forces,  naval  and  military,  and  prompt  movements,  are  among  the- 
great  elements  of  success  in  war.  It  will  be  conceded,  that  the 
ability  to  run  gun-boats,  iron-clads,  rams,  and  mortar  boats,  through 
all  our  lakes,  to  and  from  them  to  all  our  great  rivers,  and  to  coil- 


182 

nect  from  both,  through  such  enlarged  canals,  with  the  seaboard, 
and  the  Gulf,  would  vastly  increase  our  naval  and  military  power. 

Is  it  not  clear,  then,  that  if  such  a  movement,  with  such  resources 
and  communications,  had  been  made,  in  sufficient  force,  the 
first  year  of  the  war,  so  as  to  seize,  or  effectually  blockade,  all  the 
rebel  ports,  to  occupy,  by  an  upward  and  downward  movement, 
the  whole  Mississippi  and  all  its  tributaries,  isolating  and  cutting 
rebeldom  in  two,  and  thus  preventing  supplies  from  Texas,  Louisi- 
ana, and  Arkansas,  that  the  contest  must  have  been  closed  long 
ere  this,  and  thus  saved  five  or  six  times  the  cost  of  these  works. 
As  indicating  the  consequence  of  our  occupation  and  command  of 
the  Mississippi  and  the  Gulf,  let  us  see  its  effect  on  the  supply  of 
the  single  indispensable  article  of  beef  to  the  rebel  army  and 
people. 

By  the  census  of  18(50,  table  36,  the  number  of  cattle  that  year 
in  the  loyal  States  was  7,674,000 ;  in  Texas  alone,  2,733,267 ;  in 
Louisiana,  329,855;  and  in  Arkansas,  318,355;  in  those  parts  of 
the  rebel  States  east  of  the  Mississippi,  not  commanded  by  our 
troops  and  gun-boats,  2,558,000,  and  in  the  parts  of  those  States 
thus  commanded  by  us,  1,087,000.  Thus  it  will  be  seen,  that  the 
cattle  in  Texas  alone  (whence  the  rebels,  heretofore,  have  derived 
their  main  supplies,)  raised  on  their  boundless  prairies,  and  rich 
perennial  grass,  have  largely  exceeded  all  the  cattle  in  those  parts 
of  the  rebel  States  east  of  the  Mississippi,  commanded  by  them. 
But  that  commanded  by  us,  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries, 
and  the  Gulf,  as  is  now  the  case,  cuts  off  the  above  supplies  from 
Texas,  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  west  and  north  Mississippi,  north 
Alabama  and  west  and  middle  Tennessee.  Hence  the  cries  of 
starvation  from  the  South  ;  hence,  mainly,  the  rise  there  is  in  the 
price  of  beef,  from  a  few  cents  to  a  dollar  a  pound.  Controlled, 
as  the  Gulf  and  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  now  are  by  us,  so  as 
to  prevent  any  Western  supplies  of  beef,  and  the  desolation  and 
inundation  which  has  swept  over  so  much  of  the  rest  of  rebeldom 
since  1860,  their  army  and  people  cannot  be  supplied  with  beef 
throughout  this  year.  Nor  would  running  the  blockade  help  them 
in  this  respect,  for  Europe  has  no  supplies  of  beef  to  spare,  requir- 
ing large  amounts  from  us  every  year.  The  revolt,  then,  is  doomed 
this  year  by  starvation,  if  not,  as  we  believe,  by  victories.  Indeed, 
I  imagine,  if  our  Secretaries  of  War  and  of  the  Navy  were  called 
on  for  official  reports,  they  could  clearly  show,  that  with  ample 
appropriations  in  July,  1861,  and  all  these  works  then  completed, 
they  could  have  crushed  the  revolt  in  the  fall  of  1861  and  winter 
of  1862.  All,  then,  that  has  been  expended  since,  of  blood  and 
treasure,  and  all  the  risks  to  which  the  Union  may  have  been 
exposed,  result  from  the  want  of  these  works.  Surely  these  are 
momentous  considerations,  appealing,  with  irresistible  force,  to  the 
heart  and  judgment  of  every  true  American  statesman  and  patriot. 

Great,  however,  as  are  the  advantages  in  war  to  be  derived 
from  the  construction  of  these  works,  it  is  still  more  in  peace,  and 
as  arteries  of  trade,  that  the  benefit  would  be  greatest.  If  iron 


183 

steamers  are  to  control  the  commerce  of  the  world,  the  cheap  con- 
struction and  running  of  such  vessels  may  decide  this  great  ques- 
tion in  our  favor.  Now,  whether  these  steamers  are  to  be  built  on 
the  seaboard  or  the  interior,  the  coal,  and  iron,  and  timber,  with 
which  to  make  them,  and  the  coal  and  supplies  with  which  to  run 
them,  could  be  furnished  much  more  cheaply  by  these  enlarged 
canals.  And  even  if  the  vessels  be  of  timber,  the  engines,  boilers, 
anchors,  etc.,  must  be  of  iron,  and  they  must  be  run  with  coal,  all 
which  would  be  furnished  cheaper  at  our  lakes  and  seaboard,  by 
these  enlarged  canals.  Nor  is  it  only  for  the  construction  of 
engines  and  boilers  for  steamers,  or  coal  to  run  them,  that  these 
works  would  be  important,  but  the  cheapening  of  the  transporta- 
tion of  coal,  iron,  timber,  and  supplies,  would  be  greatly  beneficial 
in  all  industrial  pursuits.  It  is,  however,  in  cheapening  the  trans- 
portation of  our  immense  agricultural  products  to  the  East,  South, 
seaboard,  and  the  return  cargoes,  that  these  works  would  confer 
the  greatest  benefits.  The  value  of  the  freight  transported  on 
these  canals,  last  year,  was  over  $500,000,000,  but,  when  all  should 
be  enlarged,  as  herein  proposed,  the  value  of  their  freight,  in  a 
few  years,  would  exceed  SEVERAL  BILLIONS  OF  DOLLARS.  They 
would  draw  from  a  vastly  extended  area,  from  augmented  popu- 
lation and  products,  and  with  greater  celerity  and  economy  of 
movements,  from  the  increased  distances  that  freight  could  be 
carried,  and  additional  articles.  With  these  improvements,  mil- 
lions of  bales  of  cotton  would  be  carried  annually  on  these  enlarged 
canals.  All  of  Missouri,  Iowa,  Kentucky,  Minnesota,  Kansas, 
and  the  North-western  Territories,  up  the  Missouri  and  its  tribu- 
taries, with  large  portions  of  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Arkansas, 
Louisiana,  and  even  of  Texas,  on  the  Red  river,  would  be  added 
to  the  region  from  which  supplies  would  be  sent,  and  return  car- 
goes proceed  by  these  works.  Our  exports  abroad  would  soon 
reach  a  BILLION  of  dollars,  of  which  at  least  one-third  would  con- 
sist of  breadstuff's  and  provisions.  Corn  was  consumed,  last  year, 
in  some  of  the  Western  States,  as  fuel,  in  consequence  of  high 
freights.  But  this  could  never  recur  with  these  enlarged  canals. 
Indeed,  the  products  to  be  carried  on  these  canals  would  include 
the  whole  valley  of  the  Lakes,  the  Ohio,  Mississippi  and  Missouri, 
and  many  articles  thus  reaching;  there,  thence  be  carried,  on  our 
great  imperial  railway,  to  the  Pacific,  bringing  back  return  car- 
goes for  the  same  routes.  Breadstuff's  and  provisions  and  cotton 
would  be  carried  more  cheaply  through  these  canals  to  the  manu- 
facturing States,  and  their  fabrics  return  the  same  way,  in  vastly 
augmented  amounts,  to  the  West. 

Last  year,  even  during  a  war,  breadstuff's  and  provisions,  reach- 
ing $109,676,875  in  value,  were  exported  abroad,  from  the  loyal 
States  alone ;  but,  with  these  enlarged  canals,  the  amount  could 
be  more  than  trippled,  the  augmented  exports  bringing  in  increased 
imports,  and  vast  additional  revenue.  Can  we  not  realize  the  cer- 
tainty of  these  great  results,  and  have  we  not  the  energy  and 
patriotism  to  insure  their  accomplishment?  Assuredly  we  have. 


184 

Nor  is  it  only  our  revenue  from  duties  that  would  be  increased 
to  an  extent  sufficient  of  itself,  in  a  few  years,  to  pay  the  princi- 
pal and  interest  of  the  debt  incurred  in  the  construction  of  these 
works,  but  our  internal  revenue,  also,  would  be  prodigiously  aug- 
mented. 

The  census  of  1860  shows  our  increase  of  wealth,  from  1850  to 
1860,  to  have  been  126.45  per  cent.  (Table  35.)  Now,  if  we  would 
increase  our  wealth  only  one-tenth,  in  the  next  ten  years,  by 
the  construction  of  these  works,  then  (our  wealth  being  now 
$16,159,616,068)  such  increase  would  make  our  wealth,  in  1870, 
instead  of  1=36,593,450,585,  more  than  sixteen  hundred  millions 
greater,  or  more  than  ten  timesihe  cost  of  these  works ;  and,  in  1880, 
instead  of  $82,865,868,849,  over  three  billions  six  hundred  millions 
more,  or  more  than  twenty  times  the  cost  of  these  works.  The 
same  per  centage,  then,  of  our  present  internal  tax,  on  this 
augmented  wealth,  estimated  at  only  one  per  cent.,  would  be 
$16,000,000  (annually)  in  1870,  and  $36,000,000  (annually)  in  1880, 
and  constantly  increasing.  Add  this  to  the  great  increase  of  our 
revenue  from  duties,  as  the  result  of  these  works,  and  the  addition 
would  not  only  soon  liquidate  their  cost,  but  yield  a  sum  which,  in 
a  few  years,  would  pay  the  principal  and  interest  of  our  public 
debt. 

With  such  works,  we  would  certainly  soon  be  the  first  military, 
naval,  and  commercial  power  of  the  world.  The  West,  with  these 
reduced  freights,  would  secure  immense  additional  markets  for  her 
products,  and  the  East  send  a  much  larger  amount  of  manufactures, 
in  return  cargoes,  to  the  West. 

A  new  and  great  impulse  would  be  given  to  the  coal  and  iron 
interest.  If  the  Delaware,  Susquehanna,  and  their  tributaries, 
and  the  Ohio  and  its  tributaries,  especially  the  Youghiogheny, 
Monongahela,  and  Alleghany  had  the  benefit  of  low  freight,  afford- 
ed by  these  canals,  they  could  supply  not  only  the  seaboard  at 
reduced  rates,  but  also,  central  and  western  New  York,  the  Cana- 
das,  and  the  whole  Lake  Region,  with  coal  and  iron.  Indeed,  the 
increased  demand,  thus  caused  for  these  great  articles,  would  soon 
bring  our  make  of  iron  and  consumption  of  coal,  up  to  that  of 
England,  and  ultimately  much  larger.  Freight  is  a  much  greater 
element  in  the  cost  of  coal  and  iron,  than  of  agricultural  products, 
but  the  increased  exchange  would  be  mutually  advantageous. 

With  this  system  completed,  the  Mississippi  might  communicate 
by  large  steamers,  with  all  the  lakes,  and  eastward  by  the  enlarged 
canals,  to  Chicago  or  Green  Bay,  or  pass  up  the  Ohio,  by  the 
Wabash  or  from  Lawrenceburg  or  Cincinnati  to  Toledo,  or  by 
Portsmouth  or  Bridgeport  to  Cleveland,  or  by  Bridgeport  to  Erie 
City,  or  by  Pittsburgh,  up  the  Alleghany  to  Olean  and  Rochester, 
on  the  Erie  canal,  or  by  ship-canal,  from  Buffalo  to  Ontario,  thence, 
by  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Lake  Champlain  and  the  Hudson,  or  by 
Oswego  to  Syracuse,  or  by  the  Erie  canal  from  Buffalo  to  the  Hud- 
son, or  by  the  Chenango  and  Chemung  route,  down  the  Susque- 
hanua,  to  Philadelphia,  or  Baltimore,  or  down  the  Chesapeake  to 


Norfolk,  and  on  through  Albemarle  Sound  south.  Or,  going  from 
the  East,  or  South,  westward  by  these  routes,  the  steamers  could 
proceed  west,  and  up  the  Missouri,  to  the  points  where  they  would 
meet  the  great  railway  leading  to  the  Pacific.  Indeed,  if  we  do 
our  duty  now,  the  next  generation  may  carry  similar  canals  from 
the  head  of  Lake  Superior  to  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  and  up 
the  Kansas  or  Platte  to  the  gold  mines  of  Colorado,  or,  from  the 
great  falls  of  the  Missouri,  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  mountains, 
with  railroad  connection  thence  to  the  mouth  of  the  Oregon  and 
Puget's  sound.  There  would  be  connected  with  this  system,  the 
Lakes,  and  all  the  Eastern  waters,  the  Ohio  and  all  its  tributaries, 
including  the  Youghiogheny,  Monongahela,  Alleghany,  Kanawa, 
Guyandotte,  Big  Sandy,  Muskingum,  Scioto,  Miami,  Wabash, 
Licking,  Kentucky,  Green  river,  Barren,  Cumberland,  and  Ten- 
nessee, the  Upper  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  especially  the  Illi- 
nois and  Wisconsin,  the  Des-Moines  and  St.  Peter's,  the  lower 
Mississippi  and  all  its  vast  tributaries,  the  St.  Francis,  White  river, 
Arkansas,  Red  river,  and  Yazoo.  These  are  no  dreams  of  an 
enthusiast,  but  advancing  realities,  if  now,  now  we  will  only  do 
our  duty  in  crushing  this  rebellion,  and  exorcise  the  foul  fiend  of 
slavery,  that  called  it  into  being.  We  may  best  judge  of  what 
we  may  do  in  the  future,  by  what  we  have  done  in  the  past.  We 
have  constructed  4,650  miles  of  canals  (including  slackwater),  at 
a  cost  of  $132,000,000.  We  have  constructed  (including  city 
roads)  31,898  miles  of  railroad,  at  a  cost  of  $1,203,285,569,  making 
an  aggregate,  for  railroads  and  canals,  of  $1,335,285,569.  Now, 
one-tenth  of  this  sum  will  probably  make  all  the  works  proposed 
now  to  be  executed,  for  they  are  all  only  enlargements  of  existing 
canals,  except  the  ship-canal  around  the  falls  of  Niagara,  and  a 
similar  canal  from  Lake  Champlain  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  a  work  of 
vast  importance,  but  that  can  only  be  accomplished  with  the  aid 
and  consent  of  Canada,  and  is  not  now  estimated. 

These  improvements  would  be  truly  national,  especially  as  pro- 
vision would  be  made  for  deepening  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi. 
We  propose  to  make  or  enlarge  no  mere  local  works,  but  only 
such  as  connect  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf  with  the  Lakes,  Ohio, 
Mississippi,  Missouri,  Hudson,  Delaware,  Susquehanna,  Chesa- 
peake bay,  and  Albemarle  sound.  These  local  routes  must  be 
constructed  or  enlarged  by  local  or  State  expenditures. 

The  canals  in  New  York,  constituting  so  large  a  portion  of  the 
system,  have  already  (mostly)  the  requisite  width  and  depth,  and 
only  need  an  enlargement  of  the  locks.  The  great  Delaware  and 
Raritan  canal,  connecting  New  York  with  Philadelphia,  has  a 
depth  of  eight  feet,  and  the  Delaware  and  Chesapeake,  uniting 
them  with  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Lakes,  Baltimore,  Norfolk, 
and  Albemarle  sound,  has  a  depth  of  ten  feet.  No  doubt  the 
enlightened  proprietors  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  canal  would, 
on  fair  terms  to  themselves  and  the  Government,  enlarge  that  canal 
(if  practicable)  to  the  depth  of  the  Delaware  and  Chesapeake, 
which  would  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  whole  country,  but 
especially  to  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Norfolk. 


186 

The  Pennsylvania  canals  proposed  to  be  enlarged,  are  the  Schuyl- 
kill,  leading  by  the  Union  from  Philadelphia,  through  Reading  to 
Middleton  on  the  Susquehanna,  and  thence  xip  that  river  to  the 
Erie  and  the  Lakes.  The  Schuylkill  canal,  70  miles  to  Reading, 
has  a  depth  of  six  feet,  and  from  Reading  to  Middleton,  four  feet. 
The  Susquehanna  canal,  from  Havre  de  Grace,  Maryland,  at  the 
head  of  tidewater,  and  the  Chesapeake  bay  to  the  New  York  line, 
and  system,  has  a  uniform  depth  of  live  feet,  and  is  about  300  miles 
long.  This  canal,  leading  through  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania 
along  the  Susquehanna,  can  readily  and  cheaply  be  enlarged  to  the 
dimensions  of  the  Erie  canal,  and  will  then  furnish  Norfolk,  Balti- 
more and  Philadelphia  a  direct  route  to  the  Lakes  by  the  enlarged 
system,  fully  eqnal  to  that  of  New  York.  Western  Pennsylvania 
and  Pittsburgh  would  have  the  route,  by  the  enlarged  system,  up 
the  Allegany  and  Olean  to  Rochester  on  the  Erie  canal,  and  thence 
to  the  Hudson  or  the  Lakes,  and  from  Bridgeport  to  Cleveland  or 
Erie  City.  Ohio  would  have  the  benefit  of  the  routes  (enlarged) 
to  and  from  Cleveland  to  Bridgeport  or  Portsmouth  on  the  Ohio, 
and  to  and  from  Toledo  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  or  Miami,  or 
to  Cincinnati.  These  canals  are  forty  feet  wide  and  four  feet  deep. 
Indiana  Avould  have  the  benefit  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal  to 
Evansville,  on  the  Ohio,  from  Toledo,  and  to  and  from  the  same 
point  to  the  mouth  of  the  Miami  at  Lawrenceburg  and  to  Cincin- 
nati, and  would  also  largely  participate  in  the  benefit  of  the  Chi- 
cago and  Illinois  canal  of  the  whole  system.  Wisconsin  would 
have  the  benefit  of  all  these  canals,  but  especially  of  that  connect- 
ing the  Wisconsin  river  with  Green  Bay,  and  the  rest  of  the  lakes 
with  Lake  Superior.  Illinois  would  have  the  benefit  of  the  Wabash 
and  Erie,  the  Chicago  and  Illinois,  and  of  the  entire  system.  In- 
deed, with  a  thorough-cut  canal  from  the  Illinois  river  to  Chicago, 
fact  will  outstrip  fancy  as  regards  the  progress  of  that  great  city. 
And  here  a  strong  argument  in  favor  of  the  whole  of  these  works 
is  presented  to  every  true  American,  by  the  fact  that  the  vast  and 
increasing  heavy  and  bulky  products  of  the  West  demand  the 
enlarged  works,  and  if  she  cannot  have  them  by  the  Hudson,  the 
Delaware,  and  Susquehanna,  she  will  have  them  by  the  Canada 
canals,  and  the  St.  Lawrence  to  its  outlet  in  the  Gulf.  Minnesota 
would  have  the  benefit  of  the  improvement  of  the  upper  Missis- 
sippi, and  of  the  canals  uniting  the  Wisconsin  with  Green  Bay,  and 
Superior  with  the  other  lakes.  Iowa,  Missouri,  Kansas,  and  the 
whole  Western  Territories  would  have  the  benefit  of  the  improve- 
ment of  the  Mississippi,  of  the  routes  by  Chicago,  Green  Bay,  the 
Ohio,  and  the  whole  system.  The  glorious  new  free  State  of  West- 
ern Virginia  would  have  the  benefit  of  all  the  routes  up  and  down 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  to  the  Lakes,  the  Hudson,  Delaware,  Sus- 
quehanna, and  the  Gulf.  So  would  Kentucky,  and  the  enlargement 
of  the  Louisville  canal  would  be  within  her  own  limits.  When  we 
reflect  that  Kentucky  borders  for  nearly  a  thousand  miles  on  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi,  with  her  streams,  the  Big  Sandy,  Licking, 
Kentucky,  Green  river,  and  Barren  (which  last  four  have  766  miles 


of  slackwater  navigation),  Cumberland,  and  Tennessee,  all  tribu- 
taries of  the  Ohio,  the  benefits  to  her  would  be  prodigious.  The 
interest  of  the  States  of  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  Louis- 
iana, North  Alabama,  on  the  Tennessee  river,  and  Texas,  on  the 
Red  river,  would  be  greatly  promoted.  They  would  have  improved 
routes  to  and  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  to  and  from 
the  Ohio,  the  Lakes,  and  the  Atlantic.  Eastern  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina  would  derive  great  advantages  by  the  enlarged 
routes,  connecting  Albemarle  sound  and  the  Chesapeake  with  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  the  Hudson,  the  Delaware,  the  Susquehanna, 
and  the  Lakes.  Delaware  and  Maryland  could  avail  themselves 
most  beneficially  of  all  these  routes,  and  Baltimore  would  derive 
immense  advantages  from  the  enlarged  route  by  the  Susquehanna 
to  the  Lakes,  having  then  as  good  a  route  there  as  New  York,  and 
the  difference  of  distance  being  only  30  miles.  New  Jersey,  by 
her  route  from  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  to  the  Hudson,  and  by 
her  rising  cities  near  or  opposite  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  and 
by  the  enlarged  system  to  the  Lakes,  would  find  all  her  interests 
greatly  advanced,  and  the  business  on  her  canals  and  railroads 
vastly  increased.  Michigan,  with  a  larger  lake  shore  than  any 
other  State,  fronting  on  Lakes  Superior,  Michigan,  Huron,  St. 
Clair,  the  connecting  straits  and  rivers,  and  Lake  Erie,  would 
derive  immense  advantages.  By  her  immediate  connection  with 
the  whole  New  York  and  Eastern  system,  and  by  Toledo,  Cleve- 
land or  Erie  City,  to  the  Ohio  river,  and  by  the  Chicago  or  Green 
Bay  routes  to  the  Mississippi  and  the  Gulf,  her  vast  agricultural 
products  in  the  peninsula  would  find  new  and  augmented  mar- 
kets ;  while,  with  the  ship-canal  to  Lake  Superior,  the  magnificent 
iron  and  copper  mines  on  that  immense  inland  sea,  as  well  as  those 
in  Wisconsin,  and  the  splendid  pineries  and  fisheries  of  both  States, 
would  receive  an  immense  development.  Pennsylvania  has  no 
large  available  through  route  now  from  the  Delaware  and  Susque- 
hanna to  the  Lakes,  nor  from  Pittsburgh.  The  proposed  system 
would  give  her  those  routes,  as  well  from  the  East  as  from  the 
West.  This  would  give  to  her  coal  and  iron,  her  vast  agricultural 
products,  her  immense  manufactures,  and  all  her  industrial  pur- 
suits, a  new  impulse,  while  her  two  great  cities,  Philadelphia  and 
Pittsburgh,  would  be  greatly  advanced  in  wealth  and  population. 
When  we  reflect  that  coal  and  iron  have  mainly  contributed  to 
make  England  what  she  is,  and  how  superior,  in  this  respect,  are 
the  natural  advantages  of  Pennsylvania  with  her  bituminous  and 
anthracite  coal  and  iron  and  fluxes  in  juxtaposition,  with  a  con- 
tinent surrounding  her  to  furnish  a  market,  with  her  central  loca- 
tion, fronting  on  the  deep  tidewater  of  the  Delaware,  and  upon  the 
Lakes  and  the  Ohio,  with  its  two  great  confluents  at  Pittsburgh, 
the  Alleghany  and  Monongahela,  we  cannot  fully  realize  the 
immense  advantages  which  she  would  derive  from  these  enlarged 
communications.  But  what  of  New  York  ?  With  all  her  routes,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  Erie  canal,  enlarged  as  proposed,  with  her 
mighty  system  extending  to  the  Lakes  and  St.  Lawrence,  from  Lake 


188 

Charaplain  to  Superior,  south  by  the  Delaware  and  Susquehanna, 
west  by  the  Alleghany,  Ohio,  Missouri,  and  Mississippi,  and  her 
great  city  with  an  unrivalled  location,  what  an  imperial  destiny 
lies  before  her,  with  the  Union  preserved  ?  Oh !  if  she  would 
only  fully  realize  these  great  truths,  and  spurn  from  her  embrace 
the  wretched  traitors  who,  while  falsely  professing  peace,  mean 
the  degradation  of  the  North  and  the  dissolution  of  this  Union, 
who  can  assign  limits  to  her  wealth  and  commerce  ? 

Let  us  now  examine  the  relations  of  New  England  to  these  pro- 
posed works.  Vermont,  upon  Lake  Champlain,  by  the  enlarged 
system,  connecting  her  with  the  Hudson,  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
the  Lakes,  would  be  greatly  advanced  in  wealth  and  population. 
But  with  cheapened  transportation  to  and  from  Lake  Champlain 
or  the  Hudson,  and  not  only  Vermont,  but  all  New  England,  in 
receiving  her  coal  and  iron,  and  her  supplies  from  the  West,  and 
in  sending  them  her  manufactures,  will  enjoy  great  advantages, 
and  the  business  of  her  railroads  be  vastly  increased.  So,  also, 
New  England,  on  the  Sound,  and,  in  fact,  the  whole  seaboard  and 
all  its  cities.  Bridgeport,  New  Haven,  New  London,  Providence, 
Fall  River,  New  Bedford,  Boston,  Portland,  Bangor,  Belfast,  and 
Eastport,  will  all  transact  an  immense  increased  business  with  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  the  West.  As  the  greatest 
American  consumer  of  Western  breadstuff's  and  provisions,  and 
of  our  iron  and  coal,  and  the  principal  seat  of  domestic  manu- 
factures, the  augmented  reciprocal  trade  of  New  England  with 
the  South  and  West  will  be  enormous.  Her  shipping  and  ship- 
building interests,  her  cotton,  woollen,  worsted,  and  textile  fabrics, 
her  machinery,  engines,  and  agricultural  implements,  boots  and 
shoes,  hats  and  caps,  her  cabinet  furniture,  musical  instruments, 
paper,  clothing,  fisheries,  soap,  candles,  and  chandlery,  in  which 
she  has  excelled  since  the  days  of  Franklin,  and,  in  fact,  all  her 
industrial  pursuits,  will  be  greatly  benefited.  The  products  of 
New  England  in  1860,  exclusive  of  agriculture  and  the  earnings 
of  commerce,  were  of  the  value  of  $494,075,498.  But  in  a  few 
years  after  the  completion  of  these  works,  this  amount  will  be 
doubled.  Such  is  the  skilled  and  educated  industry  of  New  Eng- 
land, and  such  the  inventive  genius  of  her  people,  that  there  is  no 
limit  to  her  products,except  markets  and  consumers.  As  New  York 
increases,  the  swelling  tide  of  the  great  city  will  flow  over  to  a 
vast  extent  into  the  adjacent  shores  of  Connecticut  and  New  Jer- 
sey ;  and  Hoboken,  West  Hoboken,  Weehawken,  Hudson  City, 
Jersey  City,  and  Newark,  will  meet  in  one  vast  metropolis.  Phila- 
delphia will  also  flow  over  in  the  same  way  into  Camden  and  adja- 
cent portions  of  New  Jersey,  whose  farms  already  greatly  exceed 
in  value  those  of  any  other  State.  The  farms  in  New  Jersey  in 
1860  were  of  the  average  value  of  $60.38  per  acre,  while  those  of 
South  Carolina,  the  great  leader  of  the  rebellion,  with  all  her 
boasted  cotton,  rice,  and  tobacco,  and  her  402,406  slaves,  were 
then  of  the  average  value  of  $8.6i  per  acre.  (Census  table  36.) 
And  yet  there  are  those  in  New  Jersey  who  would  drag  her  into 


189 

the  rebel  confederacy,  cover  her  with  the  dismal  pall  of  slavery, 
and  who  cry  Peace!  peace!  when  there  is  no  peace,  except  in 
crushing  this  wicked  rebellion.  The  States  of  the  Pacific,  as  the 
enlarged  canals  reached  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  and  ulti- 
mately the  base  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  would  be  greatly  advanced 
in  all  their  interests.  Agricultural  products  and  other  bulky  and 
heavy  articles  that  could  not  bear  transportation  all  the  way 
by  the  great  Pacific  railroad,  could  be  carried  by  such  enlarged 
canals  to  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  and  ultimately  to  the  base 
of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  thence,  by  railroad,  a  comparatively 
short  distance  to  the  Pacific,  and  westward  to  China  and  Japan. 
In  order  to  make  New  York  and  San  Francisco  great  depots  of 
interoceanic  commerce  for  America,  Europe,  Asia  and  the  world, 
these  enlarged  canals,  navigated  by  large  steamers,  and  ultimately 
toll  free,  are  indispensable. 

We  have  named,  then,  all  the  Territories,  and  all  the  thirty-five 
States,  except  three,  as  deriving  great  and  special  advantages  from 
this  system.  These  three  are  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  and  Flor- 
ida, with  a  white  population,  in  1860,  of  843,338.  These  States, 
however,  would  not  only  participate  in  the  increased  prosperity  of 
the  whole  country,  and  in  augmented  markets  for  their  cotton,  rice, 
sugar,  tobacco,  and  timber,  and  in  cheaper  supplies  of  Eastern 
manufactures,  coal,  iron,  and  Western  products,  but  they  would 
derive,  also,  special  advantages.  They  have  a  large  trade  with 
New  Orleans,  which  they  would  reach  more  cheaply  by  the  deep- 
ening the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  They  could  pass  up  Albe- 
rnarle  sound,  by  the  interior  route,  to  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  New 
York,  or  the  West,  and  take  back  return  cargoes  by  the  same 
route.  Georgia,  also,  by  her  location  on  the  Tennessee  river, 
together  with  South  Carolina,  connected  with  that  river  at  Chat- 
tanooga, would  derive  great  benefits  from  this  connection  with  the 
enlarged  canals  and  improved  navigation  of  the  West,  sending 
their  own  and  receiving  Western  products  more  cheaply. 

Thus,  every  State  and  every  Territory  in  the  Union  would  be 
advanced  in  all  their  interests  by  these  great  works,  and  lands, 
farms,  factories,  town  and  city  property,  all  be  improved  in  value. 

But,  there  is  another  topic  connected  with  this  subject,  of  vast 
importance,  particularly  at  this  juncture,  to  which  I  must  now  re- 
fer. It  is  our  public  lands,  the  homstead  bill,  and  immigration. 
On  reference  to  an  article  on  this  subject,  published  by  me  in  the 
November  number  of  THE  CONTINENTAL  MONTHLY,  it  will  be 
found  that  our  unsold  public  lands  embraced  1,649,801  square 
miles,  being  1,055,911,288  acres,  extending  to  fifteen  States  and  all 
the  Territories,  and  exceeding  half  the  area  of  the  whole  Union. 
The  area  of  New  York  being  47,000  square  miles,  is  less  than  a 
thirty -fifth  of  this  public  domain.  England  (proper),  50,922  square 
miles;  France,  203,736;  Prussia,  107,921 ;  and  Germany,  80,620 
square  miles.  Our  public  domain,  then,  is  more  than  eight  times 
as  large  as  France,  more  than  fifteen  times  as  large  as  Prussia, 
more  than  twenty  times  as  large  as  Germany,  more  than  thirty-two 


190 


times  as  large  as  England,  and  larger  (excluding  Russia)  than  all 
Europe,  containing  more  than  200,000,000  of  people.  As  Eng- 
land proper  contained,  in  1881,  18,949,916  inhabitants,  if  our  public 
domain  were  as  densely  settled,  its  population  would  exceed 
606,000,000,  and  it  would  be  260,497,561,  if  numbering  as  many  to 
the  square  mile  as  Massachusetts.  These  lands  embrace  every  vari- 
ety of  soil,  products  and  climate,  from,  that  of  St.  Petersburg  to 
the  tropics. 

After  commenting  on  the  provisious  of  our  homestead  bill,  which 
gives  to  every  settler,  American  or  European,  160  acres  of  land 
for  ten  dollars  (the  cost  of  survey,  etc.),  I  then  said  : 

"  The  homestead  privilege  will  largely  increase  immigration.  Now,  besides  the 
money  brought  here  by  the  immigrants,  the  census  proves  that  the  average  annual 
value  of  the  labor  of  Massachusetts,  per  capita,  was,  in  1860,  $220  for  each  man, 
woman  and  child,  independent  of  the  gains  of  commerce — very  large,  but  not 
given.  Assuming  that  of  the  immigrants  at  an  average  annual  value  of  only  $100 
each,  or  less  than  thirty-three  cents  a  day,  it  would  make,  in  ten  years,  at  the  rate 
of  100,000  each  year,  the  following  aggregate  : 


1st    year 
2nd     " 
3rd 
4th 
5th 
6th 
7th 
8th 
9th 
10th 


..100,000 
.  .200,000 
..300,000 
.  .400,000 
.  .500,000 
..600,000 
..700,000 
..800,000 
.  .900,000 
1,000,000 


$10,000,000 
20,000,000 
30,000,000 
40,000,000 
50,000,000 
60,000,000 
70,000,000 
80,000,000 
90,000,000 

100,000,000 


Total $550,000,000 


"In  this  table  the  labor  of  all  immigrants  each  year  is  properly  added  to  those 
arriving  the  succeeding  year,  so  as  to  make  the  aggregate  the  last  year  1,000.000. 
This  would  make  the  value  of  the  labor  of  this  million  of  immigrants  in  ten  years, 
$550,000,000,  independent  of  the  annual  accumulation  of  capital,  and  the  labor 
of  the  children  of  the  immigrants  (born  here)  after  the  first  ten  years,  which,  with 
their  descendants,  would  go  on  constantly  increasing. 

"But  by  the  official  returns,  (p.  14,  Census,)  the  number  of  alien  immigrants  to 
the  United  States,  from  December,  1850,  to  December,  1860,  was  2,598,216,  orau 
annual  average  of  260,000.; 

"  The  effect,  then,  of -this  immigration,  on  the  basis  of  the  last  table,  upon  the 
increase  of  national  wealth,  was  as  follows  : 

1st  year..... :... 260,000  =  $26.000,000 

2nd  "      '.520,000  =  52,000,000 

3rd  " 78"0,000  =  78,000,000 

4th  "      1,040,000  =  104,000,000 

5th  "      1,300,000  =  13(1.000,000 

6th  "      1,560,000  =  156,000,000 

7th  "      1,820,000  =  182,000,000 

8th  "      2,080,000  =  208,000,000 

9th  "      2,340,000  =  234,000,IK)0 

10th  "      2,600,000  =  260,000,000 

Total $1,430,000,000 

"Thus,  the  value  of  the  labor  of  the  immigrants,  from  1850  to  1860,  was 
$1,430,000,000,  making  no  allowance  for  the  accumulation  of  capital,  by  annual 


191 

reinvestment,  nor  for  the  natural  increase  of  this  population,  amounting,  by  the 
census,  in  ten  years,  to  about  twenty-four  per  cent.  This  addition  to  our  wealth, 
by  the  labor  of  the  children,  in  the  first  ten  years,  would  be  small ;  but  in  the 
second  and  each  succeeding  decade,  when  we  count  children,  and  their  descend- 
ants, it  would  be  large  and  constantly  augmenting.  But  the  census  shows  that 
our  wealth  increases  each  ten  years  at  the  rate  of  126.45  per  cent.  (Census  Table 
35.)  Now,  then,  take  our  increase  of  wealth,  in  consequence  of  immigration,  aa 
before  stated,  and  compound  it  at  the  rate  of  126.45  per  cent,  every  ten  years, 
and  the  result  is  largely  over  13,000,000,000  in  1870,  and  over  $7,000,000,000  in 
1880,  independent  of  the  effect  of  any  immigration  succeeding  1860.  If  these 
results  are  astonishing,  we  must  remember  that  immigration  here  is  augmented 
population,  and  that  it  is  population  and  labor  that  create  wealth.  Capital, 
indeed,  is  but  the  accumulation  of  labor.  Immigration,  then,  from  1850  to  1860, 
added  to  our  national  products,  a  sum  more  than  double  our  whole  debt  on  the  1st 
of  July  last,  and  augmenting  in  a  ratio  much  more  rapid  than  its  increase,  and 
thus  enabling  us  to  bear  the  war  expenses." 

As  the  homestead  privilege  must  largely  increase  immigration, 
and  add  especially  to  the  cultivation  of  our  soil,  it  will  contribute 
vastly  to  increase  our  population,  wealth,  and  power,  and  augment 
our  revenues  from  duties  and  taxes. 

As  this  domain  is  extended  over  fifteen  States  and  all  the  Terri- 
tories, the  completion  of  these  enlarged  canals,  embracing  so  large 
a  portion  of  them,  would  be  most  advantageous  to  all,  and  the  in- 
ducement to  immigration  would  greatly  increase,  and  immigration 
must  soon  flow  in  from  Europe  in  an  augmented  volume.  Indeed, 
when  these  facts  are  generally  known  in  Europe,  the  desire  of 
small  renters,  and  of  the  working  classes,  to  own  a  farm,  and  cul- 
tivate their  own  lands  here,  must  bring  thousands  to  our  shores, 
even  during  the  war.  But  it  will  be  mainly  when  the  rebellion 
shall  have  been  crushed,  the  power  of  the  Government  vindicated, 
it  authority  fully  re-established,  and  slavery  extinguished,  so  as  to 
make  labor  honorable  everywhere  throughout  our  country,  and 
freedom  universal,  that  this  immigration  will  surge  upon  our  snores. 
When  we  shall  have  maintained  the  Union  unbroken  against  for- 
eign and  domestic  enemies,  and  proved  that  a  republic  is  as  pow- 
erful in  war  as  it  is  benign  in  peace,  and  especially  that  the  people 
will  rush  to  the  ranks  to  crush  even  the  most  gigantic  rebellion, 
and  that  they  will  not  only  bear  arms,  but  taxes,  for  such  a  pur- 
pose, the  prophets  of  evil,  who  have  so  often  proclaimed  our  Gov- 
ernment an  organized  anarchy,  will  lose  their  power  to  delude  the 
people  of  Europe.  And  when  that  people  learn  the  truth,  and  the 
vast  privileges  offered  them  by  the  Homestead  Bill,  there  will  be 
an  exodus  from  Europe  to  our  country,  unprecedented  since  the 
discovery  of  America.  The  wounds  inflicted  by  the  war  will  then 
soon  be  healed,  and  European  immigrants,  cultivating  here  their 
own  farms,  and  truly  loyal  to  this  free  and  paternal  Government, 
from  which  they  will  have  received  this  precious  gift  of  a  farm  for 
each,  will  take  the  place  of  the  rebels,  who  shall  have  fled  the 
country. 

We  have  seen  that  the  total  cost  of  our  railroads  and  canals, 
up  to  this  date,  was  $1,335,285,569,  and  I  have  estimated  the  proba- 
ble cost  of  these  enlarged  works  as  not  exceeding  one-tenth  of 


192 

this  sum,  or  $133,528,556.  Let  us  now  examine  that  question. 
We  have  seen  that  our  4,650  miles  of  canals  cost  $132,000,000, 
being  $28,387  per  mile,  or  less,  by  $8,395  per  mile,  than  our  rail- 
roads. It  will  be  recollected  that  a  large  number  of  miles  of  these 
canals  have  already  the  requisite  depth  of  seven  feet,  and  width 
of  seventy,  and  need  only  an  enlargement  of  their  locks.  It  ap- 
pears, however,  by  the  returns,  that  the  Erie  canal,  the  Grand 
Junction,  Champlain  canal,  and  the  Black  River,  Chemung,  Che- 
nango,  and  Oswego,  in  all  528  miles,  are  all  seven  feet  deep,  and 
seventy  feet  wide,  and  cost  $83,494  per  mile,  while  the  average 
cost  of  all  our  canals,  varying  from  forty  to  seventy-five  feet  in 
width,  and  from  four  to  ten  in  depth,  was  $28,387  per  mile.  As- 
suming $28,000  per  mile  as  the  average  cost  of  the  canals  requir- 
ing enlargement,  and  $83,000  that  of  those  per  mile,  having  al- 
ready the  requisite  dimensions,  the  difference  would  be  $55,000 
per  mile,  as  the  average  cost  of  those  needing  increased  dimen- 
sions. 

The  estimated  cost,  then,  would  stand  as  follows : 

698  miles  New  York  canals,  enlargement  of  locks $5,980,000 

Enlarging  dimensions,  etc.,  of  1,696  miles,  at  $55,000  per  mile 93,280,000 

Total $99,260,000 

The  conjectural  estimate  heretofore  made  by  me  was  $133,528,556, 
or,  one-tenth  the  cost  of  our  existing  railroads  and  canals,  and 
exceeding,  by  $1,528,556,  the  cost  of  all  our  present  4,650  miles  of 
canal.  Deduct  this  from  the  above  $133,528,556,  leaves  $34,268,556 
to  be  applied  to  improving  the  St.  Clair  flats,  the  Mississippi 
river  deepening  its  mouth,  and  for  the  ship-canal  round  the  Falls 
of  Niagara. 

No  estimate  is  now  presented  of  the  cost  of  the  canal  from 
Lake  Champlain  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  because  that  requires  the 
co-operation  of  Canada. 

The  railroads  of  our  country  would  increase  their  business,  with 
our  augmented  wealth  and  population,  especially  in  the  transport- 
ation of  passengers  and  merchandise.  They  would  also  obtain 
iron  cheaper  for  rails,  boilers  and  engines,  timber  for  cars,  bread- 
stuffs  and  provisions  for  supplies,  and  coal  or  wood  for  their 
locomotives. 

Great,  however,  as  would  be  the  effect  of  these  works  in  aug- 
menting our  commerce,  wealth  and  population,  their  results  in 
consolidating  and  perpetuating  our  Union  would  be  still  more  im- 
portant. When  the  Ohio,  Mississippi,  and  Missouri,  and  all  their 
tributaries,  arterial izing  the  great  valley,  shall  be  united  by  the 
proposed  routes  with  the  Lakes,  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Hudson, 
Delaware,  Susquehanna,  Chesapeake,  and  Albemarle,  what  sacri- 
legious hand  could  be  raised  against  such  a  Union?  We  should 
have  no  more  rebellions.  We  should  hear  no  more  of  North, 
South,  East  and  West,  for  all  would  be  linked  together  by  a 
unity  of  commerce  and  interests.  Our  Union  would  become  a 


193 

social,  moral,  geographical,  political  and  commercial  necessity,  and 
no  State  would  risk  by  secession  the  benefit  of  participating  in  its 
commerce.  We  should  be  a  homogeneous  people,  and  slavery 
would  disappear  before  the  march  of  civilization,  and  of  free 
schools,  free  labor,  free  soil,  free  lakes,  rivers  and  canals.  It  is 
the  absence  of  such  a  system  (aided  by  slavery),  drawing  the 
West  and  South-west,  by  a  supposed  superior  attraction,  to  the 
Gulf,  that  has  led  the  South-west  into  this  rebellion.  But  with 
slavery  extinguished,  with  freedom  strengthening  labor's  hand, 
with  education  elevating  the  soul  and  enlightening  the  understand- 
ing, and  with  such  communications,  uniting  all  our  great  lakes  and 
rivers,  East  and  West,  all  crowned  with  flourishing  towns  and 
mighty  cities,  with  cultured  fields  and  smiling  harvests,  exchang- 
ing their  own  products  and  fabrics,  and  those  of  the  world,  by  fly- 
ing cars  and  rushing  steamers,  revolt  or  disunion  would  be  im- 
possible. Strike  down  every  barrier  that  separates  the  business 
of  the  North  and  East  from  that  of  the  South  and  West,  and  you 
render  dissolution  impossible.  In  commerce  we  would  be  a  unit, 
drawing  to  us  by  the  irresistible  attraction  of  interest,  intercourse 
and  trade,  the  whole  valley  of  the  Lakes  and  St.  Lawrence. 
Whom  God  had  united  by  geography,  by  race,  by  language,  com- 
merce, and  interest,  political  institutions  could  not  long  keep  asun- 
der. Of  all  foreign  nations,  those  which  derive  the  greatest  dis- 
advantages from  such  an  union  would  be  England  and  France,  the 
two  governments  which  a  wicked  pro-slavery  rebellion  invites  to 
attempt  our  destruction.  With  such  a  commerce,  and  with  slave- 
ry extinguished,  we  would  have  the  Union,  not  as  it  was,  but  as 
our  fathers  intended  it  should  be,  when  they  founded  this  great 
and  free  republic.  We  should  attain  the  highest  civilization^  and 
enjoy  the  greatest  happiness  of  which  our  race  is  capable.  So  long 
as  slavery  existed  here,  and  we  were  divided  into  States  cherish- 
ing and  States  abhorring  the  institution, — so  long  as  free  and 
forced  labor  were  thus  antagonized,  we  could  scarcely  be  said  to 
have  a  real  Union,  or  to  exist  truly  as  a  nation.  Slavery  loomed  up 
like  a  black  mountain,  dividing  us.  Slavery  kept  us  always  on  the 
verge  of  civil  war,  with  hostility  to  liberty,  education  and  pro- 
gress, and  menacing  for  half  a  century  the  life  of  the  Republic. 
The  question,  then,  was  not,  Will  any  measure,  or  any  construc- 
tion of  the  constitution,  benefit  the  nation  ?  but,  Will  it  weaken  or 
strengthen  slavery?  All  that  was  good,  or  great,  or  national,  was 
opposed  by  slavery — science,  literature,  the  improvement  of  rivers 
and  harbors,  homesteads  for  the  West,  defenses  and  navies  for  the 
East.  American  ocean  steamers  were  sacrificed  to  foreign  subsi- 
dies, and  all  aid  was  refused  to  canals  or  railroads,  including  that 
to  the  Pacific,  although  essential  to  the  national  unity.  Slavery 
was  attempted  to  be  forced  on  Kansas,  first  by  violence  and  inva- 
sion, and  then  by  fraud,  and  the  forgery  of  a  constitution.  De- 
feated in  Kansas  by  the  voice  of  the  people,  slavery  took  the  ques- 
tion from  the  people,  and  promulgated  its  last  platform  in  1860,  by 
which  all  the  Territories,  nearly  equal  in  area  to  the  States,  were 
13 


194 

to  be  subjected  forever  as  Territories  to  slavery,  although  opposed 
by  the  overwhelming  voice  of  their  people.  Slavery  was  national- 
ized, and  freedom  limited  and  circumscribed,  with  the  evident  in- 
tent soon  to  strangle  it  in  all  the  States,  and  spread  forced  labor 
over  the  continent,  from  the  North  to  Cape  Horn.  Failing  in  the 
election,  slavery  then  assailed  the  vital  principle  of  the  republic, 
the  rule  of  the  majority,  and  inaugurated  the  rebellion.  Slavery 
kept  perjured  traitors  for  months  in  the  cabinet  and  the  two 
Houses  of  Congress,  to  aid  in  the  overthrow  of  the  Government. 
Then  was  formed  a  constitution  avowedly  based  on  slavery,  set- 
ting it  up  as  an  idol  to  be  worshipped,  and  upon  whose  barbaric 
altars  is  now  being  poured  out  the  sacrificial  blood  of  freemen. 
But  it  will  fail,  for  the  curse  of  God  and  man  is  upon  it.  And 
when  the  rebellion  is  crushed,  and  slavery  extinguished,  we  shall 
emerge  from  this  contest  strengthened,  purified,  exalted.  We  shall 
march  to  the  step  and  music  of  a  redeemed  humanity,  and  a  regen- 
erated Union.  We  shall  feel  a  new  inspiration,  and  breathe  an 
air  in  which  slavery  and  every  form  of  oppression  must  perish. 

Standing  upon  these  friendly  shores,  in  a  land  which  abolished 
slavery  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  surrounded  by  a  people  de- 
voted to  our  welfare,  looking  westward,  along  the  path  of  empire, 
across  the  Atlantic,  to  my  own  beloved  country,  these  are  my 
views  of  her  glorious  destiny,  when  the  twin  hydras  of  slavery 
and  rebellion  are  crushed  forever. 

If  our  Irish  adopted  citizens  could  only  hear,  as  I  now  do,  the 
condemnation  of  slavery  and  of  this  revolt,  by  the  Irish  people ;  if 
they  could  hear  them,  as  I  do,  quote  the  electric  words  of  their  re- 
nowned Curran  against  slavery,  and  in  favor  of  universal  emanci- 
pation /  if  they  could  listen,  as  they  repeated  the  still  bolder  and 
scathing  denunciations  of  their  great  orator,  O'Connell,  as  he 
trampled  on  the  dehumanizing  system  of  chattel  slavery,  they  would 
scorn  the  advice  of  the  traitor  leaders,  who,  under  the  false  guise  of 
democracy,  but  in  hostility  to  all  its  principles,  would  now  lure  them 
by  the  syren  cry  of  peace,  into  the  destruction  of  the  Union, 
which  guards  their  rights,  and  protects  their  interests. 

The  Convention  now  assembled  at  Chicago,  can  do  much  to  in- 
augurate a  new  era  of  civilization,  freedom  and  progress,  by  aiding 
in  giving  to  the  nation  these  great  interior  routes  of  commerce  and 
intercourse,  in  the  centre  of  which  your  great  city  will  hold  the 
urn,  as  the  long-divorced  waters  of  the  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi 
are  again  commingled,  and  the  Union  linked  together  by  the  im- 
perishable bonds  of  commerce,  interest  and  affection. 

With  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

R  J.  WALKER. 


LIST   OF  DELEGATES 


SHIP-CANAL  CONVENTION. 


MAINE. 


Hon.  Hannibal  Hamlin Bangor. 

Ex-Gov.  Israel  Washburne  . . . 

A.  D.  Manson    

Phillip  H.  Brown Port  and. 

T.  C.  Hersey 

Jedediah  Jewett  

John  A.  Poor 

John  Lynch 

James  6.  Brown 


James  H.  Perley Portland. 

Daniel  Wood " 

John  W.  Perkins 

Charles  E.  Jose 

C.  F.  Foster 

Horatio  N.  Jose 

John  A.  S.  Dana 

John  T.  Gilman 

C.  B.  Stitson.. . 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

Hon.  T.  M.  Edwards Keene. 

VERMONT. 


Lucius  Tallett  Burlington. 


John  Dallen. 
L.  B.  Platt 


F.  F.  Strong Burlington. 

William  Early Hartland. 

M.  M.  Huntington Rochester. 


CONNECTICUT. 


S.  N.  Gould Cornel. 

R.  R.  Dake Pittsfield. 

Hon.  Thomas  F.  Bogans Conn. 

J.  C.  Wheaton 

F.  H.  Bissell..  ..Hartford. 


A.  W.  Barrows Hartford. 

C.  C.  Tiffany New  Haven. 

John  P.  Elton Waterbury. 

Thomas  Porter " 

Thomas  L.  Gould  . .  " 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


Hon.  J.  H.  Clifford New  Bedford. 

Dr.  E.  P.  At.le 

Ed.  N.  Howland 

L/aniel  Sullivan 

Dr.  Lyman  Bartlett 

H.  W.  Seabury 

Theodore  Knowies 

L.-  Bartlett. ... 

Samuel  G.  Bowden Boston. 

Oliver  Perkins 

Charles  C.  Fuller 

Hon.  L.  Sabine 

Wm.  Hilton 


Daniel  Pitman Boston. 

J.  S.  Blackford 

S.  B.  Stebbins 

J.  S.  Edgerly 

Robert  Hill    

William  G.  E.  Pope 

Gilman  Currier 

J.  C.  Converse 

William  Penson 

Daniel  Shundy 

Solomon  Parsons 

L.  M.  Beardsly 

A.  Howe  . . 


196 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


R.  E.  Damon Boston. 

John  Fulton " 

Charles  E.  Grant " 

Moses  P.  Grant " 

William  T.  Battles Worcester. 

J.  G.  Lyde " 

A.  Smith " 

Ed.    Barton " 

C.  Triffin " 

Dr.  John  Green " 

James  Dunlap Northampton. 


E.  Southworth Springfield. 

Dr.  L.  Hans " 

J.  E.  Hood " 

Hon.  H.  L.  Dawes North  Adams. 

George  E.  Johnson Brookfield. 

George  H.  Laflin    Pittsfield. 

Abel  Hull Elder. 

M.  D.  Southwick Blackstone. 

S.  G.  Hubbard Hartland. 

P.  S.  Williams Hoadley. 


RHODE  ISLAND. 


S.  Hutchins Providence. 

George  C.  Bonlow Woonsocket. 


R.  J.  Arnold Newport. 

C.  Tiffany " 


NEW  YORK. 


Hon.  Erastus  Corning Albany. 

William  H.  Read " 

G.  M.  Griffin " 

J.  W.  Holbrook " 

William  B.  Lewis " 

Hon.  Samuel  B.  Ruggles New  York 

Gen.  Hiram  Walbridge " 

Ex-Gov.  John  A.  King " 

Alfred  M.  Hoyt " 

James  Packard " 

Henry  S.  Downs " 

E.  Masters " 

William  T.  Blodget " 

Josiah  M.  Fisk 

H.  A.  Tucker 

'  -f.  D.  J.  McGowen 

iftauncy  M.  Du  Pee 

James  A.  Hamilton 

Alexander  McLead 

Dr.  Julius  Homberger 

Edwin  F.  Arnold   . .   

G.  Furman 

Hon.  Moses  B.  McClay. .  .    ... 

R.  M.  Tittsworth 

C.  D.  Wallace 

G.  F.  Wickes 

John  Faitte 

Hon.  E.  G.  Spaulding Buffalo. 

E.  P.  Dow " 

A.  L.  Griffin " 

S.  Lincoln  " 

D.  R.  Williams 

Dr.  A.  H.  Harvey 

E.  Stork  

G.  S.  Hazard 

Wilson  Brunson 

Henry  W.  Rogers 

Wallace  Johnson 

Ed.  Strock 

•Ed.  Tohill  . . 


Joseph  Candee Buffalo. 

Henry  Mechell " 

E.  T.  Proper " 

S.  V.  R.  Watson " 

H.  W.  Rogers « 

S.  Chamberlin " 

F.  A.  Alberger " 

William  Wilkinson " 

George  Holt " 

H.  B.  Wilder " 

S.  S.  Gutherie " 

Richard  Williams 

P.  L.  Stenberge  

J.  R.  Bently  

G.  R.  Wilson 

C.  C.  F.  Gay 

A.  M.  Clapp 

H.  D.  Dorr 

E.  P.  Dorr 

H.  0.  Corning 

J.  Parker 

Walter  Johnson    

John  Allen 

Daniel  Bowen 

P.  H.  Bender 

David  Gray 

G.  Himmenson 

Walter  Young 

E.  R.  Jewett 

J.  M.  Richmond 

Henry  Steiner 

C.  C.  Wycoff 

E.  G.  Gray 

James  C.  Evans 

Gilbert  Molleson Osw  go. 

A.  P.  Grant 

B.  F.  Greene 

Wills  NeLon 

J.  Wendall 

Charles  Wendal!. . 


197 


YORK — Continued. 


J.  0.  Churchell Oswego. 

Joseph  Owen  " 

Leonard  Ames " 

George  Ames " 

F.  A.  G.  B.  Grant " 

L.  B.  Crocker " 

Hon.  D.  C.  Littlejohn " 

Hon.  Henry  Fitzhugh " 

Henry  Fitzhugh,  Jr 

R.  C.  Mattoon 

P.  Burdy 

H.  L.  Davis 

D.  McCallen 

J.  W.  Petkin 

Isaac  Fellows 

Daniel  Lyons 

William  Averly 

D.  De  Wolf 

Frank  Pulver 

Willard  Johnson 

L.  B.Robe 

D.  M.  Callum 

Daniel  Lyons 

M.  J.  Cummings 

Hon.  C.  B.  Sedgwick Syr  a  use. 

Charles  Tallman 

William  H.  Sparkland 

Henry  Baldwin 

A.  H.  Hovey 

Charles  Andrews 

Robert  Graw 

T.  R.  Porter 

L.  Gleasou 

W.  H.  Shackland 

John  P.  Concade Roch  ster. 

Henry  Way 

A.  Sherman 

R.  Sherman 

W.  Walker 

S.  M.  Marsh 

F.  Vase 

A.  Vase 

T.  R.  Porter 

J.  M.  Winslow 

J.  R.  Wilder 

M.  H.  Mills 

D.  M.  Denny 

H.  L.  Denny 

Charles  Cook Havana. 

E.  B.  Holmes Brockport. 

Wm.  Pearson Orange. 

B.  F.  French Utica. 

S.  S.  Faxon «« 

F.  C.  Dowding Attica. 

H.  J.  Sickles " 

G.C.Baldwin Troy 

B.C.  Porter.. " 

J  C.  Hart     " 

Thomas  McManus   " 

J.  R.   Prentice  . .  " 


R.  D.  Bradwell Troy. 

J.  G.  McMurry " 

S.  B.  Saxton " 

E.  J.  Hicks " 

Charles  Eddy " 

A.  B.  Morgan " 

Charles  A.  Holmes " 

M.  L.  Tilly  " 

Charles  S.  Richards " 

T.  R.  Sexton  " 

F.  A.  Sheldon " 

William  H.  Young " 

John  Sherry " 

F.  C.  Brinsmade " 

J.  R.  Trail  " 

W.  M.  A.  Nismal. " 

James  0.  Leach Balston  Springs. 

Jonathan  S.  Beach " 

James  M.  Badger Brooklyn. 

Charles  Rowlnnd " 

Rev.  G.  S.  Corwin Elba. 

A.  H.  Hutchiuson Albion. 

Henry  J.  Sickles.... " 

A.  R.  Patterson " 

S.  C.  Payne " 

V.  V.  Bullock " 

L.  J.  Peck  " 

Jesse  N.  Seely Pitcher. 

E.  A.  Price Palmyra. 

G.  W.  Cuyler " 

Charles  McClouth  " 

Dr.  James  S.  Whaley Vernon. 

William  Wheeler Deposit. 

D.  A.  Ogden  Pen  Yan. 

John  Fisk Niagara. 

J.  N.  Merchant Madison  Co. 

S".  R.  Walker Livingston. 

3.  H.  Mason Monroe. 

j.  Chambers Tompkins  Co. 

Judah  Ellsworth Saratoga. 

3.  Mariam Whitehall. 

tf.  F.  Russell Saugerties. 

J.  M.  Boyes " 

B.  Shaler " 

F.  S.  Laflin " 

S.  G.  Sowing " 

Jriffin  Smith   Lockport. 

A.  Frink Warsaw. 

benjamin  N.  Huntington  ....     Rome. 
'.  S.  Sprague Cooperstown. 

)avid  Wadsworth Auburn. 

liram  W.  Tuttle Watertown.. 

Jenjamia  Haddock " 

Norman  Sacknider Oedensburg 

J.  W.  Smith 

D.  M.  Chapin 

Henry  G.  Foot 

W.  C.  Brown   

David  C.  Judson. . 


198 


NEW  JERSEY. 


Hon.  M.  L.  Ward Newark. 

Joseph  Jackson " 


Dr.  J.  B.  Sayers Sussex. 

John  Blean Mayesville 


PENNSYLVANIA. 


Lucius  Sneider Westport. 

A.  Reed Lewiston. 

£.  H.  Mason Towanda. 


Daniel  Holmes Canton. 

John  R.  Thomas Harrisburg. 

Henry  Palmer York. 


OHIO. 


Dr.  E.  Smith Dayton. 

T.M.Wales Xenia. 

G.  L.  Garron Cincinnati. 

E.  Conkling 

A.  H.  Agard Sandusky. 

John  L.  Johnson Toledo. 

F.  Bissell " 

E.B.Hyde " 

W.  T.  Walker 

Henry  Chase " 

W.  W.  Jones " 

N.  B.  Morrison Highland  Co. 

M.  B.  Tuckins Oberlin. 

H.  E.  Peck " 

H.  G.  Little " 

J.  B.  T.  Marsh  " 

J.  T.  Irwin Crestline. 

Philo  Chamberlin Cleveland. 

M.  B.  Scott " 

C.N.  Coe " 

S.  S.  Coe «« 


R.  J.  Lyon Cleveland. 

C.  Bradford " 

L.  F.  Vance  " 

W.  Rockfellow " 

R.  K.  Winslow " 

G.  N.  Gardner 

J.  H.  Clark 

J.  J.  Weaver 

Philo  Scovill 

L.  Case,  Jr 

J.  E.  Curry 

N.  J.  Boardman 

R.  P.  Spaulding 

A.  G.  Riddle 

A.  N.  Fairbanks 

S.  D.  Payne 

J.  H.  A.  Borne 

Stilman  Witt 

J.  N.  Fitch 

R.  Whitcare Salem. 


MICHIGAN. 


Prof.  A.  B.  Paliner Ann  Arbor. 

F.  S.  Stebbins " 

R.J.Barry " 

C.  G.  Clark,  Jr " 

E.  C.  Seacmon " 

J.  M.  Gregory " 

Frank  L.  Stebbins " 

J.  B.  Cupper Coldwater. 

D.B.Dennis " 

S.  B.  Dennis " 

L.  D.  Morris Ypsilanti. 

B.  Tullett " 

E.  S.  Moore Three  Rivers. 

A.  W.  Ditmas " 

J.  A.  Walter " 

E.  A.  Egery " 

William  Gould Kalamazoo. 

R.May " 

E.  E.  M.  Little " 

Hon.  H.  G.  Wells " 

M.  L.  Booth " 

C.  C.  Comstock Grand  Rapids. 

Samuel  Lewis Broadhead. 

R.  Johnson    Adrian. 


Morgan  Johnson Detroit. 

F.  D.  Hawley 

A.  E.  Bissell 

Alex.  Lewis 

J.  D.  Standish 

John  W.  Longyear 

Albert  Williams 

R.  F.  Johnson 

E.  G.  Merrick 

Wm.  H.  Craig 

John  S.  Patten    

Edmund  Kanter 

Philo  Parsons 

R.W.King, 

James  Aspinwall 

F.  G.  Bagley 

T.  H.  Hinchman 

E.  R.  Mathers 

Smith  Botsford 

B.  G.  Stimson 

Samuel  Lewis 

Ray  Haddock  

John  G.  Owen 

R.  A.  Beal 


199 


MICHIGAN. 


J.  F.  Conover Detroit. 

E.  J.  Joyce " 

F.  Lambie " 

John  P.  Wyckoff Pontiac. 

E.  W.  Jenks Sturgis. 

W.  J.  Baxter .  Jones ville. 


Charles  Dickey Marshall. 

Col.  C.  Dickey " 

C.  L.  Miller Colon. 

A.  Clock Dowagiac. 

W.  J.  Cornell Neoga. 

D.  0.  Woodruff Niles. 


INDIANA. 


L.  D.  Glassbrook Sand  Pier. 

G.  A.  Hendricks South  Bend. 

William  Miller  . .  " 


George  W.  Julien Centreville. 

E.  L.  Merrick Lake. 

S.  A.  Freeman Fort  Wayne. 

N.  H.  Buford " 

S.  Freeman  . .  " 


A.  H.  Luther Valparaiso. 

A.  B.  Judson St.  Joseph. 

H.  E.  Herbert    " 

Ed.  Marshall Rolling  Prairie. 

A.  B.  Judson Mishawaukee. 

J.  G.  Wilson Charleston. 

L.  H.  I !  anil  in Indianapolis. 

M.  Bishop  Lafayette. 


ILLINOIS. 


Dr.  Daniel  Brainard    Chicago. 

J.  W.  Foster  " 

Frederick  Tuttle 

G.  G.  Wolcott 

William  Sturgis 

W.  D.  Houghteling 

J.  A.  Hahn 

C.  G.  Wicker 

J.  T.  Edwards 

H.  E.  Sargent 

George  M.  Gray 

J.  C.  Fargo 

C.  G.  Hammond 

William  B.  Ogden 

George  W.  Gage 

D.  H.  Gage 

William  A.  Tucker 

J.  Q.  Hoyt 

J.  H.  Kinzie 

Thomas  Druminond 

Van  H.  Higgins 

P.  W.  Gates 

H.  D.  Colvin  

William  Bross 

J.  W.  Sheahan    

D.  A.  Cashman 

J.L.Wilson 

S.  J.  Medill 

L.  Brentano 

R.  M.  McChesney    

William  McKindley 

John  Wentworth .... 

John  B.  Preston 

Nathan  H.  Parker 

John  N.  Lynch   

R.  M.  Hough   

J.  Medill 

J.  S.  Rumsey 

John  L.  Hancock    . 


W.  E.  Doggett Chicago. 

John  A.  Nichols " 

G.  C.  Cook " 

H.  W.  Hinsdale  " 

H.  A.  Hurlbut 

W.  T.  Shufeldt    

George  Armour 

Clinton  Briggs 

Henry  W.  King 

Nelson  Tuttle 

James  Robb   

I.  N.  Arnold 

F.  C.  Sherman 

J.  K.  Botsford 

Merrill  Ladd    

William  Blair 

E.  Burnham 

E.  Hempstead 

Stephen  Clary 

J.  A.  Walters 

L.  J.  S.  Flint 

J.  W.  Smith    

Mark  Skinner 

Walter  S.  Newberry 

Grant  Goodrich 

Henry  Farnam   

M.  L.  Sykes 

W.  S.  Gurnee 

Potter  Palmer 

Thomas  B.  Bryan    

J.  B.  Turner    

B.  F.  Ayer    

Phillip  Conley 

George  H.  Schneider 

H.  J.  Loomis  

E.  M.  Banker 

Charles  Harmon Springfield. 

William  Day " 

E.  Rigney " 


200 


ILLINOIS  —  Continued. 


N.  J.  Conkling Springfield. 

T.  R.  King  " 

C.  W.  Mathews " 

John  Armstrong " 

Vincent  Ridgley " 

Sidney  Pulsifer    Peoria. 

H.  Jewett  " 

D.  Hitchcock " 

J.  P.  Johnson " 

John  W.  Mansell " 

C.  D.  Rankin " 

A.  G.  Anderson " 

L  Hurd    u 

E.  C.  Ingersoll 4t 

J.  C.  Proctor " 

N.  G.  Millard...   " 

M.  Locks " 

E.  A.  Andrews " 

Peter  Sweet 

Matthew  Craig    

Dr.  R.  Rouse 

Benjamin  Miller 

Frederick  Potter 

M.  W.  McReynolds 

H.  Bronson  

F.  G.  Warren 

Lewis  Hewil 

Luther  Card 

John  Weber 

James  Stewart 

C.  H.  Smith 

L.  L.  Guyer 

Charles  Farewell 

David  W.  Cummings 

George  H.  Catcel 

R.  Bills  

A.  J.  Hodges 

J.  H.  Thompson 

W.  Carr  ington 

P.  J.  Matthews 

E.  Vemmun 

A.M.  Abbott 

D.  D.  Snyder 

G.  W.  Bray  ton 

E.  C.  Ingersol 

E.  A.  Andrews 

R.  Rouse  

B.  L.  T.  Bourland 

C.  C.  Wood 

Isaac  Underbill 

John  H.  Francis 

John  Waugh 

F.  Bohe 

Henry  Kuse 

C.  W.  Rees 

J.  C.  Procter 

T.  S.  Bradley 

F.  G.  Warren 

J.  F.  Devin 


W.  A.  Willard Peoria. 

P.  C.  Merwin " 

George  W.  Hitchcock " 

P.W.Dunne " 

P.  R.  K.  Brotherson " 

N.  Huggins , " 

Wellington  Loucks " 

Louis  First " 

B.  K.  Harrington " 

Anthony  Rink " 

Matt  Goodsfield Ottawa. 

B.  N.  Purcell " 

J.  E.  Baldwin " 

W.  C.  Richardson " 

John  Arnold " 

Washington  Bushnell " 

William  Hickling " 

J.  V.  A.  Hoes " 

John  C.  Champlin ...    

B.  C.  Cook 

S.  W.  Cheaver 

J.  F.  Nash ... 

William  Reddick 

Ed.  Eames 

David  Walker 

B.  M.  Boyle 

P.  K.  Lealand 

John  Manley 

F.  C.  Gibson 

S.  W.  Raymond 

S.  Crook  

John  Hossack " 

J.  E.  Porter " 

Dr.  C.  Hurd 

Gen.  J.  N.  Singleton Quincy. 

Judge  0.  C.  Skinner 

C.  A.  Jayne 

U.  S.  Penfield 

Rev.  M.  N.  Willis 

William  N.  Anso 

John  Melby 

David  J.  Jameson 

M  McVay 

William  Minkleman 

John  Locke 

C  Kathman 

William  Mitchell  La  Salle. 

Charles  Rosenburg " 

C.  C.  Vattis 

John  Vongasser " 

F.  G.  Crane 

J.  G.  Hatch 

Ed.  Mason 

0.  N.  Adams  

Phillip  Conlin 

Thomas  Flo vd 

Dr.  L.  B.  Larkin 

Isaac  Hardy 

E.  B.  Mason 


201 


ILLINOIS  —  Continued. 


Joseph  Bliss La  Salle. 

C.  S.  Rosenburg " 

S.   Sullinger " 

Dr.  Kelsey " 

B.  F.  De  Merriett " 

L.  B.Larkin " 

F.  J.  Craine " 

Col.  D.  Taylor " 

J.  S.  Thrasher " 

Solomon  Slager " 

L.EMI1 

R.  Cady 

J.  Hardy 

N.  C.  Cannon  

D.  McKey 

V.  G.  Hatch 

John  Collins 

Joseph  Blush  

G.  N.  Teal 

L.  C.  Hathaway 

B.  T.  Filts 

L.  H.  Emens 

N.  B.  Bristol 

S.  E.  Muer 

H.  A.  Buttler 

W.  H.  Brown 

M.  D.  Calkins 

James  H.  Dicken 

H.  Mayo 

C.  H.  Joyce 

David  Stung 

E.  Vander  Fields 

J.  D.  Hempstead 

A.  W  Magill 

John  Hoosick 

William  A.  Punnell Peru. 

C.  W.  Brown 

James  Bartin " 

Dr.  S.  G.  Smith " 

J.  B.  Champney " 

William  D.  Parsons " 

C.  W.  Munger 

A.  W.  White 

George  D.  Ladd 

David  Lininger 

Samuel  N.  Troth 

A.  Sapp  

Paul  Bohemue 

William  Waker 

H.  Zimmerman 

John  Aaron 

William  Rouch  

N.  Sherwood  

J.  F.  Evans 

N.  Evans 

E.  S.  Holbrook 

F.  Benkhart 

M.  Rush 

J.  J.  Wicks.. 


J.  Beaumont Peru. 

Jnniep  Barton " 

Wm.  B.  Day " 

G.  D.  Ladd " 

Isaac  Abrahams " 

John  Brown " 

R.  C.Kelly " 

J.  P.  Hadigan " 

E.  S.  Winslow u 

Peter  Barnes " 

William  Paul " 

J.  Kaiser " 

Jo.  Koons " 

P.  K.  Bechard  " 

G.  S.  Eldridge 

Benjamin  Ream 

J.  S.  McCormick 

William  Chumad 

H.  Silver 

C.  Charles " 

C.  N.  Munger " 

L.  Runnell  " 

S.  N.  Harding     " 

J.  F.  Weeks •« 

William  Walker " 

John  Brown " 

William  B.  Day  , " 

D.  C.  Young  Joliet. 

John  N.  Hill " 

M.  C.  Russell " 

W.  B.  Hanley 

W.  W.  Stephens 

W.  J.  Hainea 

D.  Cole 

C.  Sams 

B.  U.  Sharp 

A.  H.  Day 

F.  L.  Cagwin 

F.  Qoodspeed 

W.  J.Barrett 

E.  Savage 

C.  E.  Ward 

W.  H.  Mosher 

J.  Kerchinial 

J.  Millar 

W.  H.  Powell 

C.  E.  Van  Aiken 

N.  C.  Wood 

E.  V.  Bronson 

H.  Bates 

R.  Rhodes 

James  Curtis 

William  Curtis 

Dr.  Alden 

C.  E.  Munger 

H.  Lowe 

Moses  Hall 

K.  T.  Hammond 

G.  W.  Cassidy 


202 


ILLINOIS —  Continued. 


W.  F.  Barrett Joliet. 

H.  Hook  " 

Sheriff  Monroe  " 

K.  Doolittle " 

James  Beamont " 

0.  Fox " 

J.  Boons " 

H.  Larraway    " 

J.  Hogan " 

F.  Mack  " 

A.  Mclntosh " 

J.  L.  Braden " 

J.  Me  Roberts " 

L.  Ziph (l 

W.  R.  Steele    " 

J.  C.  Breckenridge 

J.  S.  Morgan   

N.  E.  Wagner 

C.  Morrill 

A.  Leach 

W.  H.  Carlan 

L.  P.  Sunger    

D.  Cox 

W.  W.  Stevens  

U.  Osgood 

M.  K.  Sebastine 

Nelson  Fay 

H.  S.  Carpenter 

L.  N.  Bates 

N.  Danforth 

Jacob  L.  Bower 

J.  McRoberts 

William  Grenton 

William  Grenton, Jr 

James  Johmot 

R.  D.  Brown '. 

A.  H.  Taylor 

C.  Chapman 

T.  O'Brien   

N.  Gagan   

E.  B.  Harpham 

George  N.  Walker 

R.  R.  Simons 

Francis  Lowe 

T.  R.  Hunter 

M.  L.  Adams 

W.  J.  Harris 

Rodney  House 

J.  Laraway " 

George  0.  Curtiss " 

G.  W.  Cassidy " 

T.  L.  Breckenridge " 

J.  G.  Brown Polo. 

D.  J.  Pinckney " 

John  W.  Hitt " 

R.J.Hitt " 

A.  M.  Hitt " 

A.  Sanborn  . .  " 


Norman  Hanks Polo. 

Hamilton  Newton " 

Henry  Burlington 

Francis  Strunrauch 

R.  Wagener 

C.  K.  Williams 

Norman  Hawks 

C.  K.  Williams 

George  Yates " 

D.  Z.  Herl " 

C.  S.  Ritz  " 

Ruben  Wagner •' 

George  Weaver " 

James  G.  Brown " 

J.    M.   Cobleigh Fulton. 

0.  B.  Crosby " 

M.  Robbins " 

Frank  Clendenin " 

D.  S.  Spafford " 

E.  B.  Warner " 

S.  Strawder  " 

A.  Farrington " 

John  McDonald " 

R.  Sage " 

R.  Beswick 

F.  Sackett  

L.  K.  Hawthorne 

S.  S.  Patterson 

Col.  Kilgore 

Charles  Wright 

W.  Loomis 

S.  Sampson 

B.  Arey 

L.  E.  Dodge   

W.  C.  Snyder 

J.  McCoy 

L.  McCartney 

J.  H.  Perry 

J.  Rice  

E.  B.  Wells 

C.  Pease 

J.  Phelps 

Oliver  Baker 

A.  J.  Warner 

P.  B.  Brown 

A.  J.  Fuller 

L.  H.  Robinson 

J.  Cobleigh 

S.  H.  McCrea 

J.  E.  Duffin 

R.  E.  Logan 

Leander  Smith 

B.  Robinson 

H.  C.  Fellows 

H.  W.  Fonter 

Hon.  D.  E   Dodge 

W.  S.  Barnes 

D.  Efner 


203 


ILLINOIS  —  Continued. 


A.  J.  Matteson Fulton. 

W.  H.  Whipple " 

A.  S.  Ferguson " 

William  Prothrow " 

J.  B.  Emmons " 

J.Marshall " 

J.  T.  Atkinson " 

M.  Mead " 

R.  H.  Jenkins " 

A.  Morse " 

L.  Rice " 

J.  G.  Banes " 

D.  Cleveland " 

C.  W.  Alysworth " 

F.  E.  Marcellus " 

0.  Cowles " 

P.  D.  Wright Fulton  City. 

W.  T.  Wiley " 

G.  B.  Raymond Elgin. 

N.  G.  Hubbard 

0.  David.-on " 

D.F.Barclay    " 

John  Wait " 

George  Hassen " 

G.  P.  Harvey " 

A.  P.  Fish " 

William  Panton " 

E.  W.  Ktmball " 

Ira  Cockley " 

B.  F.  St.  Clair " 

John  Ransted ....  " 

M.  Mallory " 

J.Teeft " 

J.  Salisbury " 

R.  W.  Padelford " 

W.  Floyd 

John  Riser 

Henry  Sherman 

J.   M.  Truesdale 

C.  B.  Holly 

A.  J.  Joslyn 

Thomas  Bruton 

E.  W.  Cook 

M.  C.  Traver 

M.  W.  Elthrop 

B.  F.  Truesdale Amboy. 

W.  C.  Ives " 

C.  D.  Vaughan " 

J.  L.  B*ker " 

R.  T.  Adams " 

J.  S.  Briggs  " 

F.  R.Dutcher " 

William  S.  Cartrall " 

N.  J.  Swartwuod    " 

Almon  Ives " 

Josiah  Little " 

N.  L.  Chase " 

Hiram  Nance Kewanee. 


James  Goodspeed Kewanee. 

Dr.  T.  D.  Fitch " 

William  Albro " 

H.H.Bryan. " 

E.  P.  Johnson " 

Theodore  Nyley " 

S.  S.  Andrews " 

H.  B.  Bryant 

George  C.  Howe 

George  F.  Atwater 

Nelson  Lee 

J.  Hopkins 

E.  P.  Johnson 

H.  T.  West ... 

G.  C.  Hurd 

G.  Atwater 

F.  Gentom 

J.  A.  Lyon 

H.  S.  Lay 

E.  C.  Stone 

J.  R.  Preston 

H.  C.  Parker 

H.  T.  West 

George  L.  Herrick Di  on. 

Joseph  Ball 

George  P.  Goodwin 

James  E  Edsall 

William  Godfrey 

A.  L.  Porter 

Joseph  Crawford 

S.  S.  Williams 

B.  B.  Higgins 

B.  F.  Shaw    

N.  Underwood 

W.  T.  House 

Harvey  Morgan 

James  McKenney 

Samuel  C.  Ellis 

Q.Ely    

A.  W.  Pitts 

Z.  H.  Luckcy 

James  TJlley 

Dr.  0.  Everitt 

Hon.  W.  W.  Heaton 

Isaac  Jones  

Col.  S.  Noble 

A.  K.  Norris 

James  Fletcher 

A.  McFerren 

P.  M.  Alexander 

Josiah  Little 

E.  W.  Dutcher 

Martin  Wright 

F.  H.  Luckey 

T.  Wood 

Joseph  Utley 

J.  L.  Camp 

W.  Helton.. 


204 


ILLINOIS  —  Continued. 


A.  Brown Dixon. 

H.  B.  Foulk  " 

William  Uhl " 

William  M.  Clark 

E.  Wood 

D.  P.  Hall 

Dan  Castle .... 

E.  S.  Fargo 

George  H.  Page 

Hon.  John  Van  Estace 

A.  E.  Darling 

0.  M.  Alexander 

L.  Wood 

J.  B.  Williams 

G.  R.  Fulton 

John  Williams 

H.  B.  Hills 

P.  J.  Wood 

Thomas  Lowe,  Jr 

L.  M.  West Rockford. 

Anson  Miller 

E.  C.Dougherty 

J.  H.  Grow 

C.  G.  Manlin 

R.  Betty 

A.  Hammond     

D.  P.  Trupant 

Peter  Mabie 

R.  Jackson  

L.  M.  Owen 

N.  B.  Thompson 

J.  G.  Penfield 

J.  C.  Brown 

W.  B.  Webb 

W.  W.  Wood 

W.  G.  Rea 

E.  Kirk 

A.  B.  Skinner  

E.  H.  Lansing 

C.  A.  Shaw 

A.  S.  Miller 

T.  B.  Robertson 

L.  M.  West 

R.  P.  Lane  

W.  B.  Slaughter 

Thomas  Kerr 

William  Lathrop    

C.  J.  Horsman 

H.  J.  Sawyer  

0.  A.  Pennoyer  . . ,% 

J.  D.  Sanders 

C.  W.  Murfeldt 

Morey  Brown 

George  Lincoln . 

H.  D.  Frost 

H.  P.  Kimball 

C.  G.  Manland 

R.  D.  Hill 

Benjamin  Wingate  


C.  C.  Briggs Rockford. 

J.  Sanders " 

William  Talcott " 

Charles  Williams " 

W.  Wingate " 

Thomas  Dement. " 

G.  A.  Sanford " 

E.  H.  Baker " 

J.  G.  Manlove " 

B.  E.  Wingate   " 

G.H.Dennett " 

R.  A.  Sanford  " 

F.  G.  Ferguson 

S.  M.  Church 

D.  Wallach 

F.  Blackman 

G.  W.  Knox 

0.  Adams 

D.  S.  Penfield 

C.  Breastead 

T.  S.  Day 

E.  Day 

H.  P.  Kimball 

A.  Hammond 

R.  Jackson 

M.  Brown 

C.  M.  Mentfelt     

William  B.  Stoughter 

Jacob  Locke ....   Prin  eton. 

J.  R.  Earnest 

C.  C.  Lattemier 

W.  0.  Chamberlin 

Charles  Baldwin 

J.  Mercer 

C.  Jones 

D  Robinson,  Jr 

John  G.  Bradley 

Charles  S.  Kelsey 

M.  T.Peters 

C.  P.  Allen 

George  M.  Radcliff 

S.  M.  Dunbar 

C.  P.Allen 

N.  Matteson 

Dr.  C.  H.  Yager 

L.  H.  Yarwood 

Hon.  Owen  Lovejoy 

A.    Swantz 

S.  M.  Knox 

A.  T.  Colton 

John  B.  Bubach 

J.  J.  Carpenter 

A.  A.  Shannon 

L.  J.  Colton 

Joshua  R.  Brown 

Silas  Butty 

P.  F;iyercrants 

Henry  C.  Reed   

Milo  Kendall  . . 


205 


ILLINOIS —  Continued. 


George  S.  Paddock Princeton. 

J.  V.  Thompson " 

C.  Barni " 

J.  S.  Miller 

,1  oh ii  Mansfield " 

John   Bryant " 

Benjamin  Newell " 

J.  H.  Pattison   " 

John  Brady " 

G.  H.  Phelpa " 

A.  Swanzy 

L.  8.  Clossen 

L.  S.  Smith 

K.  J.  Templeton 

N.  Mattoon 

W.  S.  Gale Galesburg. 

E.  F.  Thomas 

C.  J.  Fenton 

A.  Maitison 

W.  A.  Wood 

C.  S.  Colton 

Edwin  Post 

George  W.  Wood 

Isaac  Merrill 

A.  T.  Boon 

Leonard  Miller 

Alfred  Knuwles 

W.  B.  Lee  Barron 

H.  N.  Keightly 

H.  W.  Washburn 

J.D.  Hand 

0.  S.  Pitcher 

F.  S.  Short 

L.  C.  Field 

E.  F.  Davis 

E.  M.  Cook 

F.  G.  Harris 

John  A.  Marshall 

Ghauucy  Adams 

M.  D.  Cook 

B.  0.  Carr  

F.  R.  Bartlett 

C.  H.Mathews 

A.  W.  Martin 

George  J.  Bergen 

F.  J.  Hale 

John  C.  Stuert 

W.  B.  Patterson 

G.  M.  Hunt 

Warren  Willard 

Lozal  C.  Field 

A.  Merrell Aurora. 

S.  M  Carthy 

C  H.  Goodwin 

D.  P.  Waterman 

John  Holbrook 

A.  C.  Gibson 

N.  H.  Hawkins 

G.  W.  Querean 


j.  R.  Wagner Aurora. 

C.Earle " 

amuel  Hoyle 

'homas  Judd 

allies  Robinson 

5.  R.  Allen    

3.  A.  Winslow 

.  G.  Stolp 

W.  J.  Strong 

J.  H.  Hackney 

Austin  Mann 

i.  W.  Grey 

!.  Canfield 

P.  A.  Allire 

.  D.  Brady   

fohn  Rising  

'    Gillett 

W.  H.  Miller 

A.  R.  Palmer 

.  B.  Waterman 

W.  V.  Phum 

James  G.  Barr 

Charles  Wheaton    

W.  C.  Watkins Bloomington. 

3.  R.  Overman 

C.  A.  Haner 

S.  L.  Lord 

J.  L.  Rice 

A.  J.  Merriman 

H.  P.  Merriman 

K.  H.  Well 

J.F.  Mund 

A.  Elden 

N.  Dixon  

D.  D.  Haggard 

Charles  S.  Jones 

N.  R.  Smith 

N.  H.  Stennett 

C.  Wakefield 

C.  R.  Park 

A.  B.  Ives 

William  Perry 

H.  Noble 

S.  N.  Noble 

John  Manica 

J.  C.  Baker 

J.  L.  Rice 

William   Perry 

A.  0.  Markham 

James  S.  Ewing 

A.  E.  Stephenson. 

Charles  F.  Ingalls Lee  Co 

H.  E.  Williams " 

William  M.  Van  Epps 

Josiah  Little 

Lewis  Clapp 

Amos  C.  Stedman 

Alexander  Brown  " 

N.  Tlolton " 


206 


ILLINOIS  —  Contimud. 


E.  B.  Stiles Lee  Co. 

A.  M.  Chadwick " 

N.  H.  Gardner " 

G.  W.  Braton " 

T.  C.  Angler " 

P.  M.  Alexandra " 

William  Buttler " 

George  M.  Deland " 

David  Utley " 

Lewis  Merreman " 

Benjamin  Brooks " 

James  L.  Camp " 

DavidHolly " 

John  Dement " 

James  L.  Hanley " 

A.  Cogswell " 

E.  M.  Dutcher " 

A.  E.  Wilcox 

A.  D.  Moon 

Alexander  Charters   

Charles  Dement 

James  Moore  

Isaac  Sietz  

Andrew  McPherson 

Isaac  Jones 

John  H.  Cropsey 

W.  H.  House 

H.  B.  Tinker 

Samuel  C.  Ellis 

James  Fletcher  

Joseph  Utley 

G.  E.  Haskel 

Charles  Brackett 

Charles  Curby 

William  E.  Ives 

John  C.  Jacobs 

Enoch  Wood 

W.  H.  Hanson 

Fred.  Coe  

B.  H.  Ti  uesdale 

D.  J.  Harris 

A.  R.  Whitney 

C.  J.  Reynolds 

William  Uhl   

John  Beale 

Wallace  Judd 

M.  0.  Woodford  

James  Crawford 

Charles  Godfrey 

George  E.  H. skill 

James  Godfrey 

William  H.  Godfrey 

0.  Emitt 

A.  J.  Brubaker  

L.  Wood 

J.  B.  Williams 

John  Williams 

Martin  Wright 

Samuel  J.  Butler 


G.  B.  Reynolds Lee  Co. 

W.  A.  Riley " 

S.  Wood  " 

M.  S.  Wood 

Lewis  Clapp " 

A.  Gavins Geneseo. 

S.  C.  Campbell " 

W.  P.  Cook " 

C.  A.  Fisher " 

A.  Crawford " 

J.  M.  Hasford " 

J.  J.  Town " 

Dr.  J.  S.  Sbaw 

James  Bernard 

E.  M.  Stewart 

J.  B.  Jones 

Dr.  S.  J.  Hume 

0.  J.  Stough 

J.  0.  Hood 

Alexander  White 

William  Smith 

A.  Tuttle 

J.  Bungesor 

W.  B.  Boat 

J.  S.  Hutchins 

J.  W.  Wilson 

A.  W.  Perry 

N.  B.  Gold 

Charles  Gill Un  on. 

W.  Carr   

William  H.  Alden 

J.  Preston 

J.  G.  Botsford 

T.  Henry 

W.  P.  Abbott 

F.  C.  Filmore  

Marcus  White 

0.  S.Jenks 

R.  M.  Patrick 

E.  F.  McKenney 

H.  Prathe Decatur. 

J.  G.Taylor :    " 

E.  D.  Smith « 

A.  W.  Hardy '"  ' 

A.  J.  Crain '     '  " 

D.  L.  Allen " 

A.  A.  Murry  .-..'... " 

E.  A.  Barnwell  V.Y " 

T.  K.  Edrnundson  -. Clinton. 

James  C.  Wicker  v " 

G.  Stout .Blackberry  Station. 

N.  N.  Kendall " 

Elma  Kendall  " 

J.  P  B  trtlett    " 

G.  N.  Knight Blackberry. 

J.  W.  Foss " 

C.  Reed   " 

H.  L.  Rapelge  Kaneville. 

Joseph  Knapp Orion. 


207 


ILLINOIS  —  Continued. 


W.  H.  Johnson  New  Milford. 

D.  S.  Pardee " 

G.  B.  Fletcher •     Ogle. 

John  Williams " 

P.  B.  Brown Morrison. 

W.  H.  Gregory   " 

D.  F.  Spafford" " 

Frank  Clevidan " 

John  E.  Duffien    " 

N.  Thompson " 

A.  J.  Warner 

A.  J.  Fuller 

A.  J.  Matteson 

0.  W.  Gage 

William  Hill 

A.  Ten  Eyck Irvington. 

William  Newell Paris. 

A.  Z.  Frogdon " 

John  Adams Berlin. 

E.  S.  Richardson Chebanse. 

Joseph  Heigh " 

Charles  Bard " 

William  G.  Gage Detroit. 

A.  C.  Jackson Whiteside  Co. 

A.  K.  Wheeler Kendall. 

Gen.  Thomas  Maehn Albany. 

E.  K.  Lester Monroe. 

Albert  Field,  Jr " 

C.  H.  Phillips Desplaines. 

A.  F.  Miner ' 

John  P.  Taylor Lafayette. 

Lewis  Payne  " 

James  Taylor " 

F.  Chase  " 

0.  P.  Hathaway Marsailles. 

J.  T.  Nichols " 

H.  B.  Patrick Bloomingdale. 

C.  H.  Meacham 

W.  G.  Waterman Barrington. 

G.  P.  Hardy Shelby. 

Charles  Sprague Cass  Co. 

William  Cunningham " 

E.  B.  Leonard   " 

George  Plane ,, " 

William  Chase " 

H.  C.  Chansey 

J.  O'Neill " 

Charles  Elburgh " 

Henry  Seger " 

J.  A.  Avery " 

Charles  D.  Moody " 

Henry  J.  Foster " 

Willis  M.  Hitt   " 

Lewis  Ellsworth " 

A.  B.  McConnell " 

James  N.  Brown " 

J.  H.  Pickeral " 

A.  J.  Matteson  . .  " 


H.  S.  Osborne Cass  Co. 

William  Kile  " 

Horace  Bullings 

Isaac  Overall 

J.  C.  Leonard 

R.  Bigsby Mar  ngo. 

D.  W.  Lawrence 

J.  H.  Bagley 

E.  H.  Seward 

L.  M.  Stevens  

F.  Sifford 

T.  R.  Ircenbrack 

A.  B.  Coon 

E.  F.  McKenna 

G.  Hackley 

L.  M.  Hart 

0.  Hager 

C.  C.  Miller 

C.  H.  Hibbard 

A.  D.  Kulo 

D.  Bixton 

W.  A.  Treat 

Marcus  White 

R.  Brigsby 

D.  E.  Haltman 

C.  Lancing 

David  Teed 

Peter  W.  Duty 

Alden  Jewett 

G.  Y.  Smith Plain  eld. 

J.  J.  Touser 

G.  W.  Touser 

M.  Dice 

A.  T.  Dice 

W.  J.  Hayes 

John  Hays  

J.  W.  McBride 

J.  Hager 

E.  M.  Pike Moris. 

S.  S.  Benton 

George  F.  Barstow 

Phillip  Collins 

S.  C.  Collins 

C.  Grant 

Robert  Longworth 

William  White 

D.  R.  Miller 

John  B.  Davidson 

George  Gallaway 

George  Fisher 

E.  W.  Hubbard 

J.  W.  Lawrence 

C.  Comerford 

C.  E.  Suthcrd 

Henry  CLipp 

Joseph  Hicks 

Edward  S.  Williams 

W,  R.  Conklin 


208 


ILLINOIS  —  Confirmed. 


Perry  A.  Armstrong Morris. 

S.  W.  Harris 

J.  N.  Reading 

C.  U.  Gould 

L.  W.  Clajpool 

J.  Dicky 

H.  M.  Hinkley 

G.  F.  Brown 

E.  Hanna 

B.  C.  Church 

Benjamin  Ollin 

Luke  Hall 

James  A.  Doane 

0.  B.  Galusha 

L.  J.  Russell Lacon. 

H.  S.  Crane ..         " 

G.  W.  Thompson " 

Henry  Steiner " 

N.D.  Ford 

A.  N.  Ford 

E.  Kaldenbaugh 

D.  B.  Weir 

Henry  Sherburn 

A.  Garrett. 

J.  S.  Thompson 

James  B.  Martin 

John  A.  Purley 

J.  C.  Granger 

J.  R.  Taggett 

L.  J.  Russell 

W.  E.  Hancock  

J.  W.  Hancock  

Samuel  Pomroy  " 

J.B.Forbes " 

M.  Burry " 

B.  Waitzell " 

John  Piper " 

Joseph  W.  Wilder " 

H.  D.  Craye 

W.  M.  Clarkson Henry. 

R.  Hodgnian " 

P.M.Jenny " 

William  Fountain " 

C.  M.  Baker " 

A.M.  Poole 

J.  H.  Jones 

J.  M.  Purple 

J.  C.  McCurdy 

E.  H.  Hutchins   

George  Scott 

Eli  Smith 

A.  Catlin 

R.  Clark     

Samuel  Parker 

A.  N.  Dickinson 

C.  S.  Woodward 

John  Roberts 

D.  C.  Hull 

John  Coch  . ,  .... 


John  Kline Henry. 

A.  Hoaglan " 

Lewis  Schneider " 

Albert  Ramsey  " 

Enoch    Sayer " 

James  Rodgers " 

J.  T.  Thornton " 

John  Koch " 

J.  F.  Son " 

B.  Zaker " 

Hon.  Lyman  Trumbull Alton. 

S.  Maxwell Livingston  Co. 

J.  R.  Walganot " 

J.  Whetmore " 

Dr.  S.  Wood 

J.V.Taylor " 

H.  Eldridge " 

J.  A.  Vincent " 

Rev.  B.  F.  Scriven 

E.  Tracy  

N.  S.  Stackpole 

B.  F.  Blackwell 

A.  E.  Harding 

J.  W.  Sterell 

J.  E.  Dye 

L.  E.  Kent 

William  Perry 

M.  A.  Collins 

N.  C.  Babcock 

S.  L.  Fleming 

Hon.  M.  B.  Patty 

Hon.  R.  P.  Morgan 

Hon.  J.  Angle 

S.  Strong   

Dr.  J.  H.  Hagerty 

S.  T.  K.  Prime 

L.  Kinyon 

J.  Litib 

Dr.  J.  Croswell 

H.  Rnmington 

H.  M.  Gilbert " 

N.   R.  Walker Livingston. 

Stephen  Dunlap Jacksonville. 

J.  Burden " 

William  Bronson 

M.  Payers  

Andrew  McFarland 

H.  Bendan 

J.  L.  Baily 

J.  T.  Alexander 

J.  Duncan 

William  Brown 

Stephen  Fulton 

David  Prince 

William  Thomas 

H  B.  McClure 

J.  W.  King 

C.  S.  Goltray 

A.  McDonald 


. 


209 


ILLINOIS  —  Continued. 


George  M.  Chambers Jacksonville. 

Jonathan  Nedey " 

E.  Greenleaf " 

M.  McConnell " 

Edwin  Scott " 

William  Hamilton,  Jr " 

John  Hewey " 

John  Trebeau " 

John  Henry " 

J.  Duncan " 

J.  C.  Southwick Waukegan. 

M.  C.  Form " 

L.  H.  Brayman " 

J.  P.  Nichols " 

N.  J.  Sans 

J.  H.  Flinn 

Hiram  Hoagan 

T.  Wi-.ter 

Rev.  E.  P.  Wright 

C.  M.  Worthington Shelby. 

V.  J.  Adams " 

John  Klive " 

J.  Hunt " 

J.  V.  McKinney " 

J.  H.  Tut  le " 

B.  S.  Weaver " 

W.  M.  Kilgore " 

Ralph   Sage 

W.  McCane 

John  Wood 

Henry  Moore 

L.  B.  Weatherby 

J.  0.  Mickel 

L.  K.  Hawthorn 

B.  C.  Cabiitz 

B.  B.  Stoddard  

Win.  A.   Sauborn 

F.  backett 

J.  E.  JLPherson 

Jolin  bhephard 

Thomas  A.  Gait 

F.  Sackett 

F.  B  Ilubbard 

William  Cook 

L.  H ,i  pgood 

Jacob  B.  Black Br  stol. 

Reuben  Hunt 

Jaiin-.-  Boomer 

John  A.  Cook 

H.  >\  Day 

Charles  Chandler Chandlerville. 

H.  C.  Kobbins Newark. 

Albeit  Cook " 

Jame*  Wa»hburn " 

G.  W.  Wmchell " 

Jolm  Thomburgh Channahon. 

N.  Smith Babcock's  Grove. 

W.  B.  Brown Oneida. 


H  P.  Griswold Hancock  Co. 

L  Q.  Hewins " 

J.  Y.  Bullard " 

J.  Huestis « 

A.  Goodell " 

W.  A.  Lockie " 

0.  F.  Rowley " 

J.  W.  Semple Monmouth. 

William  Piessely " 

John  Langdon " 

Albert  Mitchell   " 

Judge  John  Porter " 

S.  Wood «« 

William  F.  Smith " 

E.  C.  Harrington   Lodi. 

S  Lewis " 

E.  P.  Raperston " 

J.  Shaver Lawrence. 

F.  White La  Moille. 

David  Fletcher. .. " 

A.  E.  Blodgett " 

Samuel  Edwards " 

Henry  Snyder Berrien  Co. 

James  Scott Oquawka. 

Hiram  Rase «« 

Lewis  Leslie " 

C.  M.  Harris « 

E.  C.  Thomas Woodstock. 

J.  L.  Trow  bridge " 

J.  C.  Trowbridge " 

Hon.  T.  D.  Murphy " 

J.  A.  Parish ' " 

P.  G.  Schriever " 

E.  E.  Thomas " 

M.  Johnson " 

J.  H.  Slaum «« 

J.  H.  Johnson " 

John  Donnelly " 

Neil  Donnelly " 

M.  W.  Hunt « 

A.  VV.  Tappen " 

J.  C.  Heiz"l Dwight. 

H.  Elkiidge « 

Richaid  P.  Morgan " 

Thi.mas  Little " 

C.  S.  Newell " 

Alfred  Castle.. Wyoming. 

E.  M.  Small Galena. 

James  M.  Spratt " 

C.  R.  Piekens " 

C.  S.  Stephenson  " 

J.  R.  Maynor «« 

A.  S.  Chitlin «« 

C  A.  P.rkins " 

James  Rood " 

B.  E.O.Dili » 

A.  S.  Brink " 

J.  S.  Wagener « 


14 


210 


ILLINOIS  —  Continued. 


Joseph  Morsley Geneva. 

E.  Peck ." " 

B.  DeWolf " 

F.  H.  Bowman " 

G.  W.  Hall Mendota. 

Nelson  Dean Sandwich. 

Charles  Kennecott " 

J.  H.  Culver " 

George  H.  Cox " 

J.  E.  Phelps " 

J.  H.  Carr " 

A.Adams " 

A.  A.  Feen 

J.  C.  Pettitt 

George  Dean Belvidere. 

John  H.  Herbert " 

M.  M.  Boyce " 

Alexander  Neely " 

George  W.  Munch " 

0.  H.  Wright " 

J.  S.  Hildrup " 

Isaac  R.  Mudge " 

S.  R.  Fox " 

J.  D.  Wilson " 

William  Corning " 

J.  D.  Stowe " 

William  F.  Hovey " 

W.  R.  Dodge " 

John  Yourt " 

W.  H.  Gilman " 

D.  T.  Pliney " 

J.  N.  Brockway " 

A.  Burdick Lockport. 

William  Gooding " 

John  B.  Preston " 

G.  A.  Parks " 

B.  C.  Fellows " 

K.  S.  Rafferty " 

James  Dox " 

F.  G.  Harris " 

W.  F.  Ireson " 

Thomas  Norton " 

David  T.  Louis 

H.  S.  Mason 

S.  A.  Snits 

T.M.Fish 

G.  Williams 

J.  G.  Wright Naperville. 

D.  J.  Brown " 

Andrew  Faudly   " 

Lewis  Ellsworth  . ,    " 

Z.  C.  Bray  ton Kankakee. 

Lyman  Wooster " 

B.  T.  Clark 

C.  S.  Wiltzee " 

Jonathan  Crewa " 

H.  M.  Riser '« 

D.  G.  Bean " 


John  P.  Gamble Kankakee. 

Emory  Cobb " 

C.  C.  Wilcox 

D.  S.  Parker " 

G.  H.  Andrews " 

H.  Whitmore " 

W.  G.  Swanell " 

G.  V.  Hewling « 

L.  Milk " 

John  Siles.. " 

A.  S.  Vail Kankakee  City. 

E.  Curtis " 

J.  B.  Hamilton " 

J.  B.  Worcester 

Elder  Higbee 

Edwin  R.  Beardsly 

Samuel  Hawley 

E.  B.  Warriner 

John  Dunham 

Thomas  Kerr 

John  Castle 

R.  N.  Murry 

F.  Worcester 

W.  H.  Patterson 

J.  M.  Perry " 

Henry  Boice,  Jr " 

Charles  R.  Starr " 

A.  Bartlett " 

James  McGrew " 

N.  G.  Halsey 

T.  P.  Bonfield " 

R  Beebe " 

S.  R.  Moore " 

J.  M.  Wood " 

J.  A.  Brown " 

Nelson  Duggan Putnam  Co. 

C.  H.  Whitiker 

J.  C.  Leonard Beardstown. 

C.  D.  Hobbitt St.  Augustine. 

J.  C.  Thompson Canton. 

J.  G.  Piper " 

M.  Overman " 

S.  Y.  Thornton " 

L.  C.  Maynard 

S.  Guttentag " 

R.  W.  Dewey " 

1  homson  Smith Dement. 

John  H.  Rowe " 

B.  W.  Herring " 

John  V.  Gale " 

A.  Barnum " 

N.  Stoirgley " 

Thomas  Smith " 

A.  Diamon " 

Galva  Welworth  . . .  .Courtland  Station. 

Willinm  Merrick Orland. 

J.  H.  Merrick " 

P.  H.  Thompkina El  Paso. 


211 


ILLINOIS  —  Continued. 


J.  B.  Fulton Fairbury. 

L.  M.  Marsh " 

J.  F.  Blackburn " 

H.  L.  Marsh " 

James  L.  Alieson Mattoon. 

B.  Pilkinton " 

S.  L.  Wood Dover. 

J.  Ho.vt 

L.  E.  Zeimng *' 

Dr.  William  Robinson " 

W.  P.  Whiteside East  Paw  Paw. 

J.  T.  Holbrook Arlington. 

J.  J.  Town Genesee. 

M.  S.  Brice " 

N.  B.  Sweet. Galva. 

L.  N.  Norton Gran ville. 

L.  J.  Whal'-r Carrolton. 

L.  E.  DeWolf Wheaton. 

M.Hall 

Henry  Bird " 

H.   Smith  " 

D.  Kelly " 

0.  J.  Reynold Mt.  Carroll. 

A.  T.  Hyde " 

A.  Tomlinson " 

James  Shaw " 

E.  M.  McAffie 

B.  P.  Shirk " 

0.  P.  Miles  " 

Adam  Bohn " 

John  G.Blake " 

David  Crouse " 

V.  Armour " 

A.  H.  Litchley " 

H.  A.  Mills " 

John   M  vein 1 1 " 

H.  B.  Williams Huntley  Station. 

A.  Hart,  Jr Roscoe. 

R.  J.  Cross " 

L.  N   Claypool Grundy  Co. 

E.B.Hannah " 

D.  D.  Spencer " 

B.  C.  Church " 

J.  N.  Redding u 

E.  Sanfrrd " 

J.  P.  Sou<  berth " 

Charles  Turner " 

C.  Grant " 

G.  F.  Brown " 

R.  S.  Steele " 

B.  Matherson " 

M.  D  Hathaway Ogle  Co. 

James  Taylor " 

R  Irwin " 

M.  Hunt. " 

John  P.  Taylor " 

Lewis  Payne " 

E.  M  Dutcher " 

J.N.Edwards..  " 


G.  N.  Henchet Ogle  Co. 

A.  H.  Treat " 

J.  B.  Allen 

S.  C.  Colton 

James  Rogers 

A  N.  Swindle   

J.  V.  G«le  

A.  Barnum 

William  Clark 

R.  C.  Beuchell 

Levi  Haimond 

John  Conan 

Willi  m  Moore 

J.  M.  Small 

H.  A.  Mix 

C.  B.  Boyce 

James  P.n  ker 

J.  N.  Mallory " 

William  Fulton " 

N.  P.  Bump " 

F.  A.  Smith    " 

David  FleU-her " 

E.  K.  Lister " 

R.  Throop " 

E.  Arnold " 

S.  S.  White " 

S.  Rubles " 

Fred.  Weyerhauser Cold  Valley. 

William  Fowler Middleport. 

John  D.  Donovan   " 

Dr.  John  S    Pashley Oceola. 

Capt.  Charles  Stewart " 

R.  T.  Cassell Metamora. 

James  D.  Perry " 

L.  H.  liui-hiii!-. Lincoln. 

L.  M.  Snyder " 

W   B.  Boomer " 

George  Gates Pine  Creek. 

S.   Ru^gles ..         " 

Spooner  Ruggles " 

H.  C.  Robins Kendall  Co. 

E.  Kenbride Vermont. 

H.  S  Thomas u 

J    H.  Hunter " 

E.  C.  Gardner " 

J.   Mersh  m " 

T.  D.  S.  Stewart Reid. 

J.  F.  Dresden " 

H.  S.  Thomas  ..    " 

Scott  Pike Pittsfield. 

N.  A.  Grimshaw " 

John  S.  Irwin " 

John  Webb 

B.  B.  Wetz « 

Stei-h.  n  Giy «« 

G.  H.  Weaver Winnebago  Co. 

William  Fisher Marshall. 

IiaY.  Penn ..          " 

Richard  Loyd " 


212 


ILLINOIS  —  Continued. 


S.  S.  Richmond Marshall. 

Ph.  Stephens " 

D.  W.  Danby " 

A.  Ramsey " 

F.  0.  Kenderblake " 

Joseph  Low " 

John  Cook " 

Lewis  Schneider " 

Henry  S.  Crane " 

J.  Y.  Colton " 

M.  Bangs " 

John  Piper " 

J.  H.  Jones " 

Theodore  0.  Perry " 

N.  E.  Cook " 

J.  G.  Fathershall " 

J.  H.  Bond 

S.  H.  Conan " 

George  Scott " 

D.  R.  James Sycamore. 

C.  Elwood " 

H.James " 

John  S.  Waterman " 

J.  M.  Hood " 

J.  H.  Berridge " 

C.  Kellum " 

A.  Elwood " 

E.  T.  Hunt " 

W.  H.  Stebbins " 

M.  J.  Hunt " 

H.  Saflbrd " 

J.  Moore " 

N.  S.  Cathill " 

Joseph  White   " 

H.  Elwood " 

Luther  Lowell " 

Hon.  A.  L.  Knapp,  M.  C. . . .  Jerseyville. 

R.  Palmer Grand  Rapids. 

Lewis  Soule " 

George  Mills " 

John  S.  Wilson " 

M.  Wooley   " 

William  Ounemeyer " 

James  Packingham   Granville. 

J.  F.  Alexundre " 

J.  W.  Hapgocd 

Joseph  Rlieinhart " 

Daniel  Holly " 

D.  S.  Child 

S.  R.  Lewis Fall  River. 

J.  J.  Hanlan " 

J.  V.  Hamilton Minooka. 

H.  Kingsly Tonica. 

A.  Sp'uler Cartluige. 

G.  Turner Pekin. 

Seth  T.ilbert " 

S.  E.  Barber " 

H.  B.  Fennington " 


R.  Bergstreeser Pekin. 

George  Gregg " 

J.  D.  Mclntyre " 

J.  M.  Gill 

S.  F.  Hawley " 

C.  J.  D.  Rupert " 

L  H.  Case " 

T.  Smith " 

C.  F.  Herosey " 

C.  B.  Boyce " 

J.  R.  Steele " 

J.  M.  Mallory " 

H.  Burlingame " 

E.  C    Stevens Antioch. 

F.  B.  Hopin Sangamon  Co. 

D.  C.  Hamrow Sangamon. 

N.  Wright " 

Abner  Edwards Bureau  Co. 

J.  T.  Holbrook " 

Smith  Miller " 

John  W.  White " 

J.  M.  Wilson " 

C.  L.  Collins " 

Rev.  N.  S.  Collins " 

John  Winter " 

R.  B.  Teary " 

John  Grossman 

J   P.  Knights 

W.  W.  Clark 

H.  W.  Terry 

Peter  Terry 

Henry  J.  Miller .... 

Henry  Snyder 

J.  G.  Swann 

Trai-y  Reeves 

Julius  Benedict 

A.  R.  Kendall 

William  Lewis 

A.  D.  Gardner Onarga. 

Rev.  J.  Thomas " 

S.  P.  Avery " 

R.  A.  Hui'gerford 

Dr.  J.  L.  Parmalee 

Dr.  D.  Fenncr 

William  P.  Pierson 

Dr.  SilHsEarle 

R.  W.Bu.t Atlanta. 

V.  C.  Secord Galva. 

0.  M.  Clark " 

L  M.  Yocum " 

S.  E.  Smith " 

L.  N.  Miles " 

F.  J.  Curtis " 

James  Gallup   Marshall  Co. 

H.  nrv  F.  Ufford Lewiston. 

J    F.'Elrod " 

William  Hall Mechanicsburg. 

Samuel  F.  Bowton Sublette. 


213 


ILLINOIS  —  Continued. 


J.  T.  Atkinson  Union  Grove. 

H.  B.  Cone " 

James  Pearson " 

S.  W.  Bowman " 

Moses  Bross " 

John  Root " 

J.  F.  McKebbon Freeport. 

Francis  E.  Dakin " 

J.H.Adams " 

Henry  Story " 

Levi  Dodson Champaign. 

L.  Hodges   " 

A.  J.  Stone " 

William  S.  Waite Vandalia. 

F.  B.  Haller " 

N.  M.  McCurdy " 

Andrew  Ashton Durand. 

D.  J.  Stewart " 

D.  H.  Smith " 

Isaac  Sackett  " 

John  C.  Carman Franklin. 

H.  H.  Massey Blue  Island 

R.Fox " 

Ernest  Ulich " 

W.  P.  Roche " 

H.  M'ssey  " 

H.  S.  Rexford " 

Daniel  0.  Robinson " 

Michael  Brand    " 

F.  Sauterteny " 

A.  Guild " 

D.  J.  Pinckney Mount  Morris. 

JohnW.  Hitt    " 

J.  D.  Kennedy Oswego. 

A.  P.  Grant " 

B.  F.  Greene " 

E.  N.  Rathbone " 

A.  W.  Richardson Farmington. 

Samuel  Gushing Creek,  Will  Co. 

John  0.  Farrell Bridgeport. 

J.  J.  Lake Clinton  Station. 

A.  W.  Martin Knoxville. 

B.  K.  Otis " 

James  Cole Bushnell. 

S.  C.  Benton " 

John  D.  Hall " 

W.  Schooves " 

U.  M  Boor " 

George  M.  Epherson " 

J.  Radenbauch " 

Samuel  Eaton Tiskilwa. 

A.  H.  Dauby " 

N.  Brilon " 

R.  C.  Burhell " 

Julius  Rogers Warren. 

A.  L.  Brink " 

E.Clark « 

N.  Boothly " 

H.  Woodworth Danbury. 


0.  H.  Pnrke Macomb. 

James  McCrosky " 

William  A.  Frasier " 

Benjumin  Smith Batavia. 

James  S.  Harvey " 

T.C.Moore " 

S.  C.  Colton Grand  de  Tour. 

Henry  C.  Merrel " 

C  H.  Meland " 

William  Moore  Oregon. 

Lewis  Harmel " 

N.  N.  Jones Towanda. 

D.  L.  Zebraskia St.  Charles. 

J.  P.  Tumarld " 

E.  S.  Holbrook " 

John  M.  Cabliegh " 

H.  House " 

Read  Fei  son " 

L.  D.  Morgan " 

S.  S.  Jones " 

Thomas  Cooth Dunleith. 

T.  H.  Brittan Verdan. 

C.L.Eaton Homer. 

W.  H.  Tnpper Kaneville. 

Lewis  Stewart Piano. 

H.  Bronson Princeville. 

J  B.  Merritt Rockton. 

A.  N.  Oilman " 

S.  J.  Goodwin " 

J.  C.  Crumb Harvard. 

A.  E.  Axtell " 

L.  B.  Wyant " 

T.  D.  Pierce Addison. 

T.  J.  Evans Cobden. 

R.  Freeman Athens. 

H.  Coleman Pine  Rock. 

H.  N.  Owen MeHenry. 

J.  H.  Straight Fairboro. 

R.  C.  Straight " 

L.  E.  Crittenden " 

John  Scott Tremont. 

Edwin  Littlefield " 

J.  B  Wait Brookfield. 

W.  Holton Willow  Creek. 

R.  T.  Butler Viola. 

Nathan  Oug Magnolia. 

Robert  Tweed Ringwood. 

T.  M.  Kiinball 

H.  R.  Keightly Knoxville. 

0.  H.  Ellethorp Burlington. 

S.  H.  Whaples Neponset. 

Mo^es  Cherry Oswego. 

M.  J.  Cummings 

Willis  Nelson 

J.  J.  Coles 

C.  S.  Roberts 

C.  L.  Roberts 

T.  Coffin 

Albert  Snook. . 


214 


ILLINOIS  —  Continued. 


William  Cowdrey Oswego. 

H.  L.  Hudson " 

Thomas  D.  Wayne " 

H.C.Hopkins 

William  L.  Fowler " 

Henry  McKenny " 

William  B.  Bloomer " 

S.  J.  Minkler " 

E.  S.  Hoturt Tazewell  Co. 

E.  Dillon " 

H.R.Greene " 

James  M.  Thomas Stark  Co. 

J.  Thomas " 

Benjamin  Turner " 

William  P.  Pier.Jon Iroquois  Co. 

James  De  Wolfe Carroll. 

E.  Worthy " 

J.  Jones " 

S.  L.  Choate Buda. 

M.  F.  Dewitt    Greene. 

J.  B.  Samuel " 

Henry  Hosmer Chilicothe. 

S.J.Gilbert " 

P.  T.  Mathews " 

William  M.  Davenport " 

0.  W.  Young " 

William  McClure " 

M.  Dupies Savanna. 

A.  H.  Treat Foreston. 

J.B.Allen " 

W.  H.  Robbins " 

George  W.  Hewett " 

Peter  R.  Reid  . Rock  Island  Co. 

John  Dewe " 

John  M.  Gould  .    " 

J.T.Richards " 

G.  B.  Shaw " 

Hiram  Pitts " 

L.  C.  Boynton " 

Charles  Atkinson " 

John  Dahmes " 

Truman  Humphries " 

J.  H.  Pickerell Macon  Co. 

John  G.  Taylor " 

L.  Burrows " 

E.  W.  Smith " 

A.  A.  Hardy " 

Henry  Prather " 

D.  S.  Allen " 

William  Howard Scott  Co. 

Robert  C.  Beech " 

D.  D.  Brugle " 

G.  G.  Terry « 

T.  F.  Cooke " 

S.  P.  Coons " 

J.  P.  Hayes Putnam  Co. 

D.  S.  Childs 

J.  Packenham " 


H.  W.  White Putnam  Co. 

A.  P.  Drysant " 

C    H.  Whitaker 

W.  H.  Brown " 

William  Eddy " 

N.  Sherwood " 

W.  A.  Punnell " 

W.  T.  Cuninngham Vermillion  Co. 

J.   Peters " 

S.  M.  Sullivan " 

R.  V.  Chesley " 

M.  D.  Hawes " 

C.K.Myers " 

A.  N.  Chad  wick Franklin  Grove. 

G.  M.  Brayton " 

J  W.  Edmonds Nachusa. 

W.  A.  Rulley " 

Benjamin  Turner Stark  Co. 

William  Lowman " 

J.  M.  Thomas " 

Dr.  C.  Gorham York. 

John  W.  Sewell De  Kalb  Co. 

J.  F.  Glidden " 

Z.  Nobles " 

E.  H.  Smith " 

R.  Hopkins " 

Leonard  Moore " 

J.  F.  Simonds " 

H.  R.  Francisco " 

F.  C.  Hapgood " 

J.  P.  Earl " 

D.  E.  Adams    Lena. 

Col.  P.  Stewart Wilmington. 

C.  B.  Stetson " 

David  U.  Cobb    " 

Franklin  Mitchell " 

Hiram  0.  Alden " 

Edward  Aid  en   " 

Kev.  C   H.  Force South  Ottawa. 

S.  Crook " 

J.  H.  Dickens " 

William  Brown  " 

M.  D.  Calkins " 

Evander  Fields " 

H.  Mayo " 

John  Hill Petersburg. 

J.  W.  Scroggs Champaign  City. 

C.  H.  Miller 

John  Dahmes Moline. 

Hiram  Piits " 

A.  P.  Dysert Hennepin. 

John  B.  Fairbanks Morgan  Co. 

James  R.  Hammet Tuscola. 

H.  T.  Carnaway " 

G.  F.  Ward Milton. 

George  Wells Lake  Co. 

George  D.  Williston Calumet. 

W.  C.  Flagg Alton. 


215 


WISCONSIN. 


J.  D.  Culver Wisconsin. 

L.  D.  Blossom " 

James  Whitney " 

G.  H.  Paul   " 

C.  S.Kelsey " 

L.  G.  Fisher " 

B.  J.  Stevens  " 

J.  A.  Davis 

D.  Bonestead 

S.  Clark   

George  Wickett 

K.  H.  Darling 

John  Peacock  

S.  S.  Sanborn 

Capt   J.  Tuttle      " 

P.  Judson " 

H.  S.  Thorp « 

S.  B.  Husselman Madison. 

James  E.  Morsley " 

0.  Cole   

C.  L.  Williams 

J.  E   Bird 

E.  S.  Carr    

E.  M.  E>ys 

R.  J.  Stevens 

A.  J.  Darin 

Lewis  B.  Viles 

W.  B.  Van  Slyke 

F.  D.  Fulton  . 

James  Ross 

James  Richardson 

Daniel  Real 

George  P.  Daplin    

John  V.  Robbins 

F.  Briggs 

L.  F.  Brownell " 

Alfred  Merrill " 

Charles  M.  Cushman Milwaukee. 

D.  McDonald " 

E.  Kahn " 

Matthew  Watkins " 

A.Mullen " 

James  B.  Kellogg   

J.  A.  Helfenstein 

A.  C.  May    

J.  Hochstrader 

J.  A.  Noonan 

John  Nazro 

J.  J.  Benehan 

H.  Bartlett 

C.  H.  McKeever 

H.  L.  Palmer 

Samuel  J.  Hooker 

Ed.  H.  Broadhead 

Charles  Gasbury 

John  Thompson 

R.  P.  Sanders 

John  Rice    

J.  H.  Cordes    . 


Charles  Leesburg Milwaukee. 

E.  M.  Rundell " 

Gen.  John  McManman   " 

J.  Graham    " 

G.  H.  Walker " 

E.L.Jones " 

H.  B.  Merrill    " 

R.  G.  Clarkman " 

S.  P.  Tilton " 

S.  Hyatt " 

F.  A.  Platt 

Samuel  Dall,  Jr 

Anson  Ballard    Appleton. 

Peter  White " 

T.  M.  Woodward " 

George  McDonald  " 

Alvin  Foster    

W.  S.  Warner 

Francis  Hammond 

Prof.  R.  Z.  Mason  

John  S.  Lester 

William   Johnson 

E.  P.  Humphrey 

Henry  D.  Ryan 

George  M.  Robinson 

Moses  M.  Davis 

A.  L.  Smith " 

T.  R.  Hood  .    " 

E.  C.  Gough " 

Byron  Douglas " 

J.  H.  Kelly  Racine. 

L.  J.  Blake " 

P.  Thorp 

N.  J.  Van  Pelt 

S.  E.  Hurlburt 

J.  J.  Case 

A.  P.  Dutton  

John  Tapley 

D.  Andrews 

W.  Fitch 

George  C.  Northup 

T.  J.  Emerson 

H    G.  Winslow 

S.  C.  Tuckerman 

J.  C.  Paine  

W.  T.  Van  Pelt 

C.  H.  Upham   

A.  Sanford 

D.  H.  Jones   

George  A.  Thomson   

T.  T^yler 

C.  A.  Lathrop 

T.  Talvey 

H.  J.  Ulham    

W.  W.  Vaughan 

M.  Kiedal   

M.  B.  Mead 

A.  J.  Wickham    

J.  G.  Meacham 


216 


WISCONSIN —  Continued. 


John  Dickenson Racine, 

R.  H.  Mills Beloit. 

John  G.  Fisher 

W.  A.  T.  Chapman    

J.  J.  Blaisdall 

G.  W.  Bicknell 

W.  C.  Ritchie 

B.  E.Hall 

G.  More 

J.  C.  Newcomb 

G.  H.  Storking 

S.  T.  Murrell   

B.  C.  Rogers 

J.  Manchester  

John  Hackett 

S.  W.  Peck 

J.  H.  French   

J.  G.  Kendall 

E.  D.  Murry    

H.  Rosenbault 

E.Abel 

Joseph  Brittain 

J.  G.  Winslow  

L.  G.  Fisher    

0.  Manchester 

Volney  French Kenosha. 

F.  Robinson   

H.  F.  Schoff 

0.  T.  Head     

Z.  G.  Simmons 

A.  Fair 

H.  H.  Tarbell  

F.  N.  Lytnan 

H.  Durkee  

C.  Durkee 

A.  B.  Smith 

M.  Frank  

E.  Bain 

F.  H.  Head 

William  E.  Read 

E.  H.  Kellogg 

G.  T.  Van  Osdale 

Charles  C.  Sholes 

D.  Stone  

John  Tuttle 

Edward  H.  Rudd 

P.  Judson 

G.  F.  Mosley Janesville. 

W.  A.  Laurence 

C.  Miner  

S.  D.  Burlingame 

A.  P.  Prichard 

C.  C.  Keeler 

William  Vankirk 

J.  H.  Vankirk 

John  N.  Lynch  

R.  B.  Trust 

E.  D.  Murdock 

T.  R.  Carswell 


P.  H.  Brady Whitewater- 

L.  A.  Tanner 

R.  O'Connor 

Alexander  Graham 

H.  L.  Paher   

L.  A.  Winchester 

George  Esterly 

A.  B.  Jackson Menasha. 

A.  L.  Collins   " 

J.  G.  Calkins 

E.D.  Smith 

Dr.  Whittlesy " 

M.  Hoffan " 

M.  Selles " 

G.  R.  Perrv " 

Fred  S.  Ellis Green  Bay. 

Daniel  M.  Whitney " 

Otto  Frank 

C.  D.  Robinson " 

H.  G.  Turner  " 

J.  S.  Do<*e    Darien. 

N.  H.  Hoag " 

T.  Phelps .     " 

W.  H.  Whitney Geneva, 

W.  B.  Walker 

H.  Allen 

C.  Miller 

C.  A.  Stephens  La  Crosse. 

Charles  W.  Marshall 

Charles  Seymour   

C.  C.  Moore Mineral  Point. 

Moses  M.  Strong " 

L.  D.  Lake -    Green  Lake. 

C.  J.  Oatman  " 

F.  C.  Smith " 

S.  H.  Stafford " 

C.  M.  Baker " 

T.  D.  Hale  " 

Frank  Higgins Columbus. 

James  Maxwell Baraboo. 

A.  W.  Stark " 

A.  Weatherby Shullsburg. 

B.  Blake Port  Washington. 

M.  Fellows Manitowoc. 

Joseph  J.  Vilas " 

James  Edwards Fond  du  Lac. 

B.  J.  Munn " 

James  Jenks   Oshkosh. 

S.  M.  Hay 

M.  E.  Smith Fox  Lake. 

E.  P.  Esta Elkhorn. 

S.  H.  Ashum Waupaca. 

A.  J.  Lyman Sh^boygan. 

M.  R.  Young Grant  Co. 

J.  M.  Bingham Palmyra. 

James  G.  Thorp Eau  Clair. 

H.  L.  Danton Prairie  du  Chien. 

J.  H.  Warren Albany. 

George  A.  Dill Prescott. 


217 


WISCONSIN —  Continued, 


C.  Hoeflinger Warsaw. 

N.  H.  Wood Portage  City. 

J.  F.  Myer Watertown. 


E.  C.  Lews Juneau. 

H.  B.  Hawley Jefferson. 


IOWA. 


John  Hume Davenport. 

A.  Struts   " 

E.  S.  Gilbert " 

James  E.  Henry " 

E.  Cook " 

L.  Shriecker    

George  L.  Davenport 

Richard  B.  Hill 

David  Higgins 

E.  Mnck 

W.  F.  Washburn " 

Gen.  Fitz  Henry  Warren. . .  .Burlington. 

John  H.  Geere " 

E.E.Gay " 

0.  H.  Schank " 

E.  H  Thomas " 

F.  W.  Brooks " 

L.  S.  Ellithorp " 

L.  H.  Shephard " 

Samuel  Rand Lyons. 

J.  P.  Gage  " 

S.  J  Magill " 

H.  H.  Harrison     " 

HenryG.  Hill " 

N.  Boardman " 

Thomas  Crew " 

James  Birney " 

J.  B.  Miller « 

Charles  Ryan " 

David  Joice " 

Hiram  Gates " 

J.  C.  Wann " 

Charles  Brayton " 

G.  A.  Buffam " 

George  H.  Jerome Iowa  City. 

E.  Shephard " 

H.  D.  McKay " 

P.  Musser " 

M.  T.  Durant " 

G.  E.  De  Forest « 

James  H.  Gower " 

S.  E.  Paine " 

C.  T.  Rawson " 

E.  M.  Chase " 

David  W.  Kilbourne Keokuk. 

Edward   Kilbourne " 

William  Leighton   " 

George  Williams,  Jr " 

D.  L.  McGrugan " 

William  Timberman   " 

M.  J.  Stannan McGregor. 

W.  J.  Gilchrist « 

J.  N.  Vanoman. .  " 


A.  P.  Richardson McGregor. 

R.  Stout  " 

J.  Bassett 

A.  Waggener 

J.  Brown " 

D.  D.  Hosix 

John  McGregor 

F,.  R.  Brown 

J.  F.  Bassett 

George  W.  Bradenburg Ottumwa 

George  Murry 

J.  M.  Morris 

James  Hawley 

J.A.Drake 

Dr.  W.  P.  Corran " 

J.  W.  Edgeley 

J.  Chambers " 

W.  D.  Wilson Des  Moines. 

L.  W.  Dennis " 

F:Mills " 

L.  H.  Bush 

George  Whitaker 

J.  M.  Needham   Oskaloosa. 

J.  Thompson Cedar  Falls. 

J.  Vendegraff. De  Witt. 

W.  Fuller " 

J.  F.  Homer " 

B.  F.  Page  " 

Joseph  Howe Mt.  Pleasant. 

S.  Herrick " 

Dr.  J.  H.  Fulton " 

W.  A.  Sanders 

W.  P.  Sanders " 

Warren  Blue Lansing. 

M.  Van  Winter " 

F,  C.  Bowen Independence. 

P.  C.  Wilcox " 

R.R.Plance " 

John  F.  Cook " 

D.S.Durham " 

G.  M.  Woodbury Marshaltown. 

T.  Babel  " 

Georee  Glick " 

E.  W.  Lockwood " 

H.  P.  Williams " 

A.  C.  Camp Cedar  Rapids. 

F.  M.  Brown " 

A.  A.  Lawn Irving. 

C.  Sch waller Clayton. 

H.  H.  Packard Decora. 

W.  C.  Woodworth Fort  Madison. 

J.  J.  White Winterset. 

John  Waggener Burr  Oak. 


218 


IOWA  —  Continued. 


B.  C.  Hopkins Bowen's  Prairie. 

Otis  Whitmore " 

A.  H.  Fox West  Union. 

Lewis  Berkley " 

S.  Carpenter Bloomfield. 

A.  Hart " 

R.  Johnson .  .Princeton. 


J.  B.  Grinnell  Grinnell. 

Marshal  Bliss " 

James  Motheral Macorab. 

Dr.  J.  Carey Toledo. 

E.  P.  White Muscatine. 

G.  L.  Bell  . .  " 


J.  M.  Dally Magnolia. 


MINNESOTA. 


John  W  Taylor St.  Paul. 

J.  F.  Wierst " 


R.  A    Mott Faribault. 

James  H.  Parker Red  Wing. 


MISSOURI. 


Hon.  J.  C.  Filly St.   Louis, 

J.  Cheever " 

C.  W.  Home 

A.  W.  Fredin " 

Benjamin  Charles " 

G.  W.  Dyer 

Henry  T.  Blow 

C.  D.  Drake 

B.  R.  Bonner 

L.  B.  Hayden 

C.  W.  Irwin • 

Gen.  Wm.  K  Strong 

A.  J.  Brown 

G.  W.  Curtis 

A.  B.  Alorien 

E.  W.  Fox 

E.  0.  Steward 

Wm.  M.  McPherson 

L.  D.  Hayden 

S.  H.  Laflin 

Wyman   Crow   

Charles  M.  Irvine 

B.  G.  Brown 

George  Patridge 

A.  G.  Brown 

A  lexander  B.  Marceau 

Daniel  R.  Garrison   

Ed.  Wider 

J.  J.  Homer  


S.  M.  Edsell St.  Louis. 

H.  A.  Hosmer " 

C.  S.  Grady " 

James  Richardson " 

George  P.  Strong " 

W.  K.  Strong " 

Alfred  Pierce 

T.  H.  Homer 

S.  A.  Homeyer 

C.  S.Greely 

Morris  Collins 

Henry  Hitchcock 

B  Gritsbrown   

William  S.  Mosley    

S.  H.  Boyd 

Washington  Adams 

Phillip  Drake 

George  H.  Nettleton Hannibal. 

Heury  Staring " 

James  Craig St.  Jo?eph. 

W.  S.  Osley Jefferson  City. 

M.  S.  Mosley " 

J.  H.  Boyd Springfield. 

W.  Adams Boonville. 

W.  J.  Croch Livingston. 

D.  W.  C.  Edgerton " 

B.  P.  Henno  Chillicothe. 

Dr.  J.  B.  Bed 


KENTUCKY. 


N.  J.  Norton Shelby. 

J.  B.  Knight " 

W.  J.  Knight " 

Theodore  S.  Page " 


A.  J.  Bradley Scott  Co. 

Dr.  A.  Rodman Frankfort. 

R.  H.  Crump Louisville. 

Wm.  Terry " 


KANSAS. 


J.  Rice , . . .  Leavenwonh. 

R.  J.  Hirton " 

A.  M.  Sawyer " 

Dr.  Lee  Huston " 

Hon.  Mark  Ddlahny " 


Hon.  M.  J.  Parrott Leavenworth. 

Gen.  John  A.  Halderman  ....         " 

Col.  Chas  R.  Jennison    " 

D.  W.  Wilder " 

Ed.  Conservetive " 


219 


KANSAS  —  Continued. 


J.  L.  Pendry Leavenworth. 

D.  H.  Baily    " 

H.  Buckingham c< 

J.  Sands " 

J.H.Moore " 

Ed.  Woodruff " 

J.  C.  Irwine  . .  " 


C.  F.  Currier Leavfcnworth. 

J.  Ingersol " 

Dr.  J.  Jenks " 

Dr.  C.  A.  Logan " 

Dr.  S.  K.  Henderson Lawrence. 

J.  C.  Trask " 

Dr.  D.  W.  Stornet Topeka. 


DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. 


J.  L.  McKee Washington. 

E.  H.  Heal " 

Peter  Parker " 

J.  R.  Briggs " 

F.  A.  Springer " 

Ward  H.  Lamon " 


Wm.  A.  McCan  Washington. 


Charles  A.  Page 
L.  D.  Personate  . , 
James  E.  McClean 
C.  F.  Cook 


DACOTAH  TERRITORY. 
William  Jayne. 


221 


[The  following  letters  were  mislaid,  but  having  been  recovered 
are  here  appended :] 

FROM  ADMIRAL  JOHN  A.  DAHLGREN, 

Commander  of  the  Naval  Forces  before  Charleston. 

BUREAU  OF  ORDNANCE,  NAVY  DEPARTMENT, 

WASHINGTON  CITY,  May  9,  1863. 
Hon.  ISAAC  N.  ARNOLD,  Chicago : 

MY  DEAR  SIR: — Your  kind  note  of  the  1st  has  just  reached 
me. 

The  object  which  your  Convention  has  in  view  is  truly  import- 
ant, and  I  judge  from  the  names  of  those  who  sign  the  call,  that 
it  is  likely  to  receive  the  attention  it  deserves. 

I  regret  that  the  demands  on  my  time  by  public  duties  will  most 
probably  prevent  me  having  the  pleasure  of  being  present  at  the 
meeting. 

In  the  course  of  business,  I  have  just  visited  some  places  on  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  where  vessels  are  being  built  for  service  on 
these  rivers.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  been  west  of  the  moun- 
tains, but  in  the  brief  duration  of  a  hurried  journey,  1  was  able 
to  realize  the  impression  I  had  formed  of  the  great  future  of  the 
West  • 

Facility  of  commerce  for  products  of  all  kinds  is  absolutely 
essential  to  the  due  development  of  its  resources,  and  to  this,  the 
object  you  have  in  view  is  one  that  must  conduce  very  materially. 

I  wish  much  that  my  views  were  sufficiently  matured  to  give 
them  expression  in  writing,  but  the  subject  embraces  too  much  that 
is  wholly  unknown  to  me,  and  which  would  be  indispensable  to 
any  statement  that  could  be  of  the  least  serivce. 

With  my  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  this  and  every  other 
project  that  may  add  to  the  prosperity  and  union  of  our  glorious 
country,  I  am  most  truly, 

Your  obedient  serv't, 

.JOHN  A.  DAHLGREN. 


FROM  THE  LATE  ADMIRAL  A.  H.  FOOTE, 

Of  the  United  States  Jfavy. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May  24,  1863. 

MY  DEAR  SIR: — Your  kind  letter  of  invitation  of  the  1st  instant, 
with  its  enclosed  call  for  a  national  convention,  has  been  received. 
With  the  pressure  of  my  public  business  I  am  unable  to  leave 
Washington  for  the  present,  unless  it  be  on  a  tour  of  inspection 
at  the  different  navy  yards  and  the  rendezvous,  otherwise  I  should 
be  most  happy  to  avail  myself  of  your  kindness ;  not  that  I  con- 


222 

sider  myself  at  all  competent  to  render  aid  in  promoting  the  laud- 
able object  of  your  Convention,  but  rather  to  see  Chicago  and 
my  many  friends  in  your  prosperous  city. 

While  I  take  a  deep  interest  in  everything  tending  to  promote 
our  national  prosperity  by  the  development  of  its  commercial 
facilities,  and  strengthening  the  bonds  of  union,  I  trust  that  the 
objects  of  your  grand  Convention  may  be  consummated.  The 
character  of  my  pursuits  in  life,  and  limited  information  on  the 
subjects  which  are  to  come  before  you,  hardly  warrant  me  in  pre- 
paring a  paper  to  be  read  before  the  Convention,  with  the  idea 
that  it  could  prove  of  any  value. 

Thanking  you  for  the  compliment,  and  with  my  respects  and 
kind  regards  for  Mrs.  Arnold, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant 
and  friend, 

A.  H.  FOOTE. 
Hon.  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  &c. 


FROM  HON.  WM.  SPRAGTJE, 

A  United  States  Senator  from  Rhode  Island. 

PROVIDENCE.  R.  L,  May  1,  1863. 

DEAR  SIR: — I  have  your  kind  note  of  the  1st.  I  will  try  and 
be  with  you.  I  desire  to  be  second  to  none  in  interest  for  your 
enterprise.  Truly  yours, 

Hon.  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  Chicago.        ,  WM.  SPRAGUE. 


FROM  HOK  A.  B.  OLIN, 

Cha'vrman  of  (he  Military  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Slth  Congrett. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May  4,  1863. 
Hon.  I.  N.  ARNOLD: 

MY  DEAR  SIR  : — I  have  received  your  note  and  the  accompany- 
ing circular  of  the  proposed  commercial  Convention,  to  be  held  on 
the  first  Tuesday  of  June  next. 

I  intend,  with  God's  blessing,  to  be  there.  I  feel  a  very  deep 
interest  in  it.  I  regard  my  life  and  labors  in  Congress  as  a  sub- 
stantial failure  by  reason  of  the  loss  of  our  bill. 

I  am  sure  that  if  that  act  had  passed,  it  alone  would  have  given 
the  last  Congress  a  better  title  to  the  respect  of  posterity  than 
any  or  all  of  its  other  acts.  I  have  no  doubt  the  proposed  Con- 
vention will  so  prepare  the  public  mind,  as  to  make  your  triumph 
certain  and  your  victory  easy  at  the  next  session  of  Congress.  I 
feel  no  regret  at  leaving  Congress,  and  yet  I  confess  I  should  like 
much  to  share  with  you  the  distinguished  honor  which  will  attend 
the  success  of  a  measure  of  such  transcendent  importance  to  the 
country,  as  I  regard  this  to  be. 

Very  truly  yours, 

A.  B.  OLIN. 


223 
FROM  HON.  SCHUYLER  COLFAX, 

A  Member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  Indiana. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May  12,  1863. 

GENTLEMEN  : — If  the  obligation  of  duty  and  affection  toward  a 
suffering  member  of  my  family  here,  would  allow  me  to  obey  the 
call  of  duty  and  of  patriotism  which  beckons  me  toward  your  great 
Canal  Convention  at  Chicago  next  week,  I  should  be  there  in  per- 
son instead  of  by  this  epistolatory  substitute.  None  of  the  other 
conventions  of  this  year,  except  those  which  assemble  together  the 
friends  of  the  Union  for  united  action,  rivals  this  one  in  its  far 
reaching  and  vital  importance;  and  as  the  Mississippi  flowing  day 
and  night  and  month  and  year  from  north  to  south,  unceasingly 
protests  against  the  separation  of  these  sections  from  each  other, 
so  the  gi-eat  enlarged  canals,  creating  another  Mississippi  from 
west  to  east,  will  strengthen  the  bond  between  the  seaboard  and 
the  frontier,  and  give  to  that  fervid  patriotism  which  declares  that 
the  whole  Union  must  remain  intact  forever,  the  potential  aids  of 
commercial  policy  and  industrial  interest. 

The  nation  also  will  reap  a  rich  pecuniary  reward  from  the  com- 
pletion of  this  great  enterprise  ;  but  I  can  glance  hurriedly  at  but 
one  or  two  points.  When  the  shipment  of  produce,  by  the  sale  of 
which  the  farmer  lives,  from  the  frontier  to  the  ocean,  costs  one- 
third  to  one-half,  and  even  three-fourths  of  the  whole  amount  real- 
ized for  it  when  it  reaches  the  wharf,  the  producers  must  necessa- 
rily be  poor  customers  for  all  these  goods  by  the  duties  m  which 
our  treasury  is  in  a  large  degree  replenished ;  but  with  the  cost  of 
transit  reduced,  as  it  will  be  by  the  broad  artificial  river  t>  the 
sea  which  you  contemplate,  the  prosperity  among  our  agriculturists 
which  will  follow,  will  be  felt  in  that  result  on  the  treasury  receipts, 
which  can  be  predicted  with  such  unerring  certainty  again. 

When  the  United  States  Tax  Assessor  computes  the  invoice  of 
the  farmer,  and  values  the  corn  at  ten  or  twenty  cents  per  bushel, 
he  can  find  but  few  that  will  be  required  to  aid  the  treasury  tax 
on  their  surplus  profits. 

But  with  the  West,  by  decreased  cost  of  transportation,  brought 
in  prices  so  much  nearer  the  East,  the  increased  taxes  on  the  in- 
creased wealth  resulting  from  your  improvement,  will  indicate  its 
wisdom  even  as  a  pecuniary  investment. 

Confident  that  your  assemblage  will  conduce  by  the  unity  and 
wisdom  of  its  deliberations  and  action,  to  the  speedy  accomplish- 
ment of  a  work  that  cannot  fail  to  promote  the  development,  pros- 
perity and  unity  of  our  whole  country, 

I  am  respectfully  yours, 

SCHUYLER  COLFAX. 

Committee  of  Invitation  of  the  Chicago  Convention. 


MEETING 

OF    TH  B 

NATIONAL    CANAL    COMMITTEE. 


Pursuant  to  notice,  the  Executive  Committee  appointed  by  the 
President  of  the  Convention,  met  at  the  St.  Nicholas  Hotel,  New 
York  City,  on  Wednesday,  October  7th,  1863,  at  3  o'clock,  P.M. 

Mr.  I.  N.  ARNOLD,  of  Illinois,  Chairman,  called  the  Committee 
to  order,  and  in  the  absence  of  Col.  FOSTER,  R.  B.  HILL,  Esq.,  of 
Iowa,  was  elected  Secretary. 

The  States  of  Illinois,  New  York,  Ohio,  California,  New  Jersey, 
Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Indiana,  Minnesota,  Kansas,  Maine, 
Wisconsin,  Kentucky,  and  Rhode  Island,  were  represented. 

The  Sub-Committee,  to  prepare  a  Memorial  to  the  President 
and  Congress  of  the  United  States,  submitted  a  draft  of  a  Memo- 
rial for  the  consideration  of  the  Committee. 

The  Memorial  was  read  t  >  the  Committee,  and  after  being 
amended,  on  motion  was  unanimously  adopted. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  HILL,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  a  Committee  of  five,  consisting  of  the  Chairman,  Mr.  ARNOLD, 
and  four  others  to  be  named  by  him,  be  appointed  to  present  the  Memorial  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  ask  him  to  lay  the  same  before  Congress, 
with  a  recommendation  that  Congress  adopt  the  most  efficient  means  to  secure, 
as  early  as  practicable,  a  ship-canal  from  the  Mississippi  to  Lake  Michigan,  and 
from  the  Lakes  to  the  Atlantic. 

The  Chairman  named  as  members  of  the  committee,  JUSTIN  S. 
MORRILL,  of  Vermont,  JAMES  A.  McDouGALL,  of  California, 
A.  A.  Low,  of  New  York,  and  RICHARD  B.  HILL,  of  Iowa. 

Whereupon  the  Committee  adjourned,  to  meet  at  the  call  of  the 
Chairman. 

ISAAC  N.  ARNOLD,  Chairman. 

RICHARD  B.  HILL,  Secretary. 

15 


MEMORIAL 

TO   THE 

PRESIDENT  AND  CONGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  assemblage  of  the  National  Canal  Convention,  so  great  a 
gathering  of  the  people,  in  the  midst  of  such  a  war  as  that  which 
is  now  taxing  the  resources  and  energies  of  the  American  people 
to  the  utmost,  was  in  itself  a  striking  and  significant  fact 

This  Convention,  national  in  its  objects  and  its  numbers,  con- 
nects itself  in  the  minds  of  all  thoughtful  men  with  the  political 
unity  of  the  country.  An  instinctive  conviction  of  its  great  im- 
portance and  direct  bearing  on  the  national  unity,  secured  for  the 
call  for  the  Convention  a  hearty  and  cordial  response,  scarcely 
paralleled  in  the  past  history  of  our  country. 

The  meeting  also  indicated  the  conviction  in  the  minds  of  the 
whole  people,  of  the  existence  of  a  great  need,  profoundly  realized, 
and  a  determination  to  supply  that  necessity.  That  need  is, 
enlarged  water-facilities  for  communication  between  the  East 
and  the  West,  both  for  military  and  commercial  purposes.  The  sub- 
ject of  enlarging  canals  between  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Atlantic  was  evidently  regarded  as  the  great  question  of  the 
times,  excepting  always  the  duty  of  putting  down  the  rebellion, 
and  maintaining  our  national  integrity. 

Under  the  resolutions  of  the  Convention  by  which  this  Com- 
mittee was  raised,  our  duty,  as  we  conceive,  is,  not  to  designate 
the  manner  in  which  ship  and  steamboat  channel  or  channels  may 
be  opened  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic,  but  to  pre- 
sent the  views  of  the  Convention  upon  the  general  subject  to  the 
President  and  Congress,  leaving  it  for  the  Government  itself,  in 
its  wisdom,  to  determine  the  best  and  most  judicious  plan  of 
effecting  the  great  object. 

The  Convention  was  entirely  unanimous  in  the  resolution,  that 
the  construction  or  enlargement  of  the  canals  between  the  Missis- 
sippi and  the  Atlantic,  with  canals  connecting  the  Lakes,  was  of 
great  national,  military,  and  commercial  importance,  and  that  such 
enlargement  to  dimensions  adequate  to  pass  gun-boats  from  the 
Mississippi  to  Lake  Michigan,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  and  from 
the  Great  Lakes,  would  furnish  the  cheapest  and  most  efficient 


228 

means  of  protecting  the  Northern  frontier,  and  at  the  same  time 
would  promote  the  rapid  development  and  permanent  union  of  our 
whole  country. 

Your  memorialists  in  presenting  the  views  of  the  Convention  to 
the  Executive  and  Congress,  will  not  attempt  to  go  into  details ; 
they  refer  to  the  mass  of  facts  and  statements  contained  in  the 
able  reports  of  the  Boards  of  Trade,  and  in  the  letters,  surveys, 
etc.,  presented  to  the  Convention  and  embodied  in  its  published 
proceedings. 

NECESSITY   OF    SHIP-CANALS   BETWEEN   EAST   AND   WEST. 

The  one  great  idea  which  your  memorialists  seek  to  impress 
upon  Congress  is,  the  necessity  of  a  great  national  highway,  in  the 
form  of  a  ship  and  steamboat- canal  between  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Atlantic.  fit? 

This  great  national  highway  is  demanded  alike  "  by  military 
prudence,  the  necessities  of  commerce,  and  political  wisdom." 

Your  memorialists  ask  the  attention  of  the  Government  to  some 
of  the  reasons,  military,  commercial,  and  political,  why  this  work 
should  be  constructed. 

1.     THE  MILITARY  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  WORK. 

We  have  arrived  at  that  period  in  our  history,  in  which  the 
Government  should  adopt  a  well-considered  and  systematic  plan 
of  defending  the  Northern  frontier.  Indeed,  the  best  means  of 
doing  this  has  long  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Government. 
Reports  from  the  War  Department,  and  surveys  from  the  Topo- 
graphical Corps,  in  great  numbers,  have  been  made,  a  large  number 
of  forts  have  been  projected  and  surveyed,  but  little  has  as  yet 
been  done. 

The  importance  of  having  command  of  the  Lakes,  in  case  of  a 
war  with  Great  Britain,  cannot  be  over-estimated.  In  1814,  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  declared  that  "  a  naval  superiority  on  the 
Lakes  is  a  sine  qua  non  of  success  in  war  on  the  frontier  of  Can- 
ada." The  great  military  importance  of  the  command  of  the 
Lakes  was  illustrated  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  the  victories  of  Perry 
on  Lake  Erie,  and  of  McDonough  on  Lake  Champlain,  were  de- 
cisive of  the  fate  of  the  war  on  the  northern  border. 

In  our  past  history,  in  the  old  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  wars, 
and  in  the  late  war  with  Great  Britain,  the  principal  attacks  our 
country  had  to  sustain  were  made  from  the  Canadian  frontier. 
But  the  defense  of  the  Northern  frontier,  always  of  great  moment, 


229 

has  become,  by  the  growth  of  the  West,  of  incalculable  import- 
ance. Certainly  not  less  than  one-third  in  value  of  the  entire 
commerce  of  the  nation  passes  over  the  Lakes.  Ten  millions 
of  people  live  upon  their  borders,  and  are  directly  interested 
in  their  security.  The  great  cities,  which  have  grown  up  on 
their  shores,  have  become  the  largest  grain  depots  of  the  world. 
Nowhere  on  earth  are  collected  and  distributed  such  vast  amounts 
of  food ;  and  yet  this  commerce,  vast  as  it  is,  these  great  cities 
and  food-producing  States,  with  their  great  granaries,  lie  entirely 
exposed,  and  invite,  by  their  helpless  condition,  ravage  and 
devastation. 

We  say  confidently,  that  this  condition  of  things  will  not  be 
permitted  to  continue.  The  voice  of  the  North- West  and  of  all 
the  Northern  frontier  will  ask,  (and  their  just  request  will  be 
cheerfully  granted,)  adequate  protection. 

EXPOSED    CONDITION"   OP   NORTHERN   FRONTIER   AS    COMPARED   WITH 
THE    ATLANTIC    COAST. 

We  respectfully  call  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  defenseless 
condition  of  the  Northern  frontier,  as  compared,  or  rather  as  con- 
trasted, with  that  of  the  Atlantic.  Upon  the  defenses  of  the 
Atlantic,  exclusive  of  naval  defenses,  there  have  been  expended 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  dollars.  Large 
additional  appropriations  were  asked  for  and  obtained  at  the  last 
session  of  Congress,  and  yet  the  Atlantic  shore  is  more  than  three 
thousand  miles  from  a  foreign  foe.  An  ocean  shields  it  from  at- 
tack. It  is  defended  by  the  strongest  navy  possessed  by  any 
nation  on  earth.  For  all  this  we  pay  cheerfully,  nor  do  we  ques- 
tion the  propriety  of  these  expenditures;  we  only  ask  that  the 
Northern  line  shall  be  no  longer  neglected. 

Now,  we  earnestly  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  our  Northern 
frontier,  with  its  commerce,  and  cities,  equal  in  value  to  the  sea- 
board, and  with  a  shore-line  exceeding  in  length  the  Atlantic  coast, 
is  within  rifle  and  cannon  range  for  a  considerable  distance,  of  the 
only  great  maratime  nation  which  will  ever  give  us  serious  trouble, 
and  is  entirely  defenseless.  We  have  no  navy  on  the  Lakes,  nor 
can  we  have  under  existing  treaties.  We  have  neither  forts  nor 
fortifications,  nor  ordnance,  nor  navy  yards.  Our  Northern  frontier 
is  utterly  without  the  means  of  defense. 

DEFENSES    OF    CANADA. 

Let  us  contrast  our  means  of  defense  with  those  of  our  neigh- 
bors over  the  line.  In  1817  it  was  provided  by  treaty  between 


230 

Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  that  both  nations  should 
dismantle  their  vessels  of  war  on  the  Lakes,  and  reduce  their  naval 
force  on  each  side  "to  one  vessel  of  one  hundred  tons  burden  on 
Lake  Ontario,  and  one  on  Lake  Champlain,  each  armed  with  one 
eighteen  pound  cannon,  and  on  the  upper  Lakes  to  two  such 
vessels  armed  with  the  like  force." 

Since  this  treaty,  Great  Britain  has  never  lost  sight  of  the 
security  of  her  American  Colonial  Empire.  She  has  expended 
many  millions  for  its  defense.  She  has  large  and  important  mili- 
tary defensive  works  at  Kingston  on  Lake  Ontario,  at  Maiden  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  river,  at  Penetanguishene  on  Georgian 
Bay,  at  Toronto,  Niagara,  Stanley,  Windsor  and  Port  Sarnia,  and 
others  extending  west  as  far  as  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  and 
beyond  to  Fort  Williams  and  Fort  Gary. 

GREAT   BRITAIN    RELIES    ON    HER    MILITARY    CANALS,    CONSTRUCTED 
FOR   MILITARY    PURPOSES. 

But  the  main  reliance  of  England  for  maintaining  and  securing 
her  supremacy  on  the  Lakes,  is  upon  her  military  canals.  These 
she  has  constructed  at  great  expense,  to  enable  her  to  pass  her 
gun-boats  from  the  ocean  through  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Lakes. 
These  works  were  constructed  with  direct  reference  to  their 
military  uses. 

The  canals  from  Montreal,  by  way  of  the  Ottawa  river  and 
interior  Lakes,  to  Kingston  on  Lake  Ontario,  were  constructed 
avowedly  as  a  military  work  by  the  Royal  Engineers,  under  the 
direction  of  the  British  Ordnance  Department.  The  preamble  of 
the  act  of  the  Canadian  Parliament  authorizing  the  taking  of  lands 
for  the  purpose,  recites,  that 

"His  majesty  has  been  pleased  to  direct  measures  to  be  immediately  taken,  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  proper  military  department,  for  constructing  a  canal 
connecting  the  waters  of  Lake  Ontario  with  the  Ottawa  river,  and  affording  a 
convenient  navigation  for  the  transport  of  naval  and  military  stores." 

In  1831,  Col.  Dumford,  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  in  his  testi- 
mony before  a  committee  of  the  English  Parliament,  stated,  that 
provision  had  been  made  for  the  defense  of  the  Lakes,  and  the 
canal  being  intended  as  a  military  work,  fortifications  should  be 
erected  at  the  entrance  of  the  canal,  and  the  immediate  vicinity 
at  Kingston.  A  fortress  of  very  considerable  strength  has  been 
built  at  Kingston.  This  canal  was  followed  by  the  construction 
around  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence  of  a  series  of  short  canals, 
far  transcending  in  capacity  any  commercial  necessity  at  the  time 


231 

they  were  built,  with  locks  45  feet  wide,  by  200  feet  long,  and 
8  feet  deep. 

She  has  also  connected  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario  by  the  Welland 
canal,  of  great  capacity,  with  locks  26  feet  wide,  150  feet  long, 
and  water  11  feet  deep. 

Such  are  the  means  by  which  Great  Britain,  sagacious  and  per- 
sistent, and  ever  looking  to  the  possibility  of  war,  has  provided 
for  securing  the  control  and  supremacy  on  the  Lakes. 

It  was  the  confidence  growing  out  of  the  condition  above  de- 
scribed, and  a  knowledge  of  our  own  defenseless  condition,  that 
induced  the  London  Times,  during  the  excitement  growing  out  of 
the  seizure  of  Slidell  and  Mason,  to  publish  articles  like  the 
following : 

"  ARMING  THE  NORTHERN  FRONTIER  AND  THE  LAKES." 
"  The  worst  part  of  the  struggle,  however,  will  not  be  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
but  on  the  Great  Lakes  of  Upper  Canada  and  North  America.  We  are  glad,  there- 
fore, to  be  able  to  tell  our  readers  that  this  danger  has  been  foreseen,  and  amply  pro- 
vided against,  and  that  within  a  week  after  the  breaking  of  the  ice  a  whole  fleet 
of  gun-boats  with  the  most  powerful  of  screw  corvettes  sent  out  to  Admiral  Milne, 
will  carry  the  protection  of  the  British  flag  from  Montreal  to  Detroit." 

The  exposed  condition  of  the  Lakes  has  not  escaped  the  atten- 
tion of  Congress.  The  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  through  Hon.  F.  P.  BLAIR,  Chairman,  at 
the  last  session  of  Congress,  called  the  attention  of  the  country  to 
this  startling  statement : 

"  A  small  fleet  of  light  draft,  heavily  armed  iron-clad  gun-boats  could  in  a  short 
month  pass  up  the  St.  Lawrence  into  the  Lakes,  and  shell  every  city  from 
Ogdensburgh  to  Chicago." 

"  It  could  at  one  blow  sweep  our  commerce  from  the  entire  chain  of  waters. 
Such  a  fleet  would  have  it  in  its  power  to  inflict  a  loss  to  be  reckoned  only  by 
hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars,  so  vast  is  the  wealth  thus  exposed  to  the  depre- 
dations of  a  maratime  enemy." 

The  cost  of  all  the  improvements  proposed  in  this  connection 
would  be  but  a  trifle,  compared  with  the  loss  which  could  be  in- 
flicted by  a  single  raid  by  these  gun-boats  through  the  Lakes. 
This  condition  of  exposure  must  not  be  permitted  to  continue; 
and  thus  we  are  brought  to  the  question  of 

WHAT   ARE   THE   BEST    MEANS   FOR   DEFENDING  THE   LAKES? 

Two  plans  have  been  proposed ;  one,  that  of  a  chain  of  forts 
along  the  shore,  defending  the  entrance  of  each  lake  and  other 
strategic  points,  and  fortifications  for  the  security  of  each  consider- 
able town  and  city. 


232 

The  other  is  the  construction  or  enlargement  of  such  canals 
as  will  enable  our  fleets  of  gun-boats  to  pass  from  the  Ocean  by 
the  Mississippi  and  the  Hudson  to  the  Lakes.  The  objections  to 
the  former  are  grave,  and  in  the  judgment  of  your  memorialists, 
viewed  in  the  light  of  the  experience  of  the  present,  are  decisive. 

The  expense  would  be  enormous,  and  when  constructed,  as 
against  iron-clad  gun-boats,  would  prove  unavailing.  The  war  in 
which  our  country  is  now  engaged  has  shown,  especially  have  the 
seige  of  Charleston  and  the  comparative  vulnerability  of  Forts 
Wagner  and  Sumter  demonstrated,  that  earthworks  are  better  than 
regular  walled  forts,  and  that  neither  are  adequate  to  prevent  the 
passage  of  iron-clad  gun-boats. 

We  must,  if  practicable,  do  as  Great  Britain  has  done — con- 
struct military  canals,  adequate  in  capacity  to  admit  our  gun-boats 
to  the  Lakes.  Thus  we  shall  be  placed  upon  an  equality  with  our 
neighbors. 

Fortunately,  this  is  entirely  practicable,  and  with  but  small 
expense  as  compared  with  the  important  results  to  be  secured. 

Various  plans  for  constructing  and  enlarging  canals,  to  enable 
gun-boats  to  pass  from  the  Hudson  and  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Lakes,  have  been  suggested. 

Prominent  among  others,  is  that  of  enlarging  the  present  Illinois 
and  Michigan  canal  from  Lake  Michigan  to  Lake  Joliet,  a  distance 
of  only  thirty-six  miles,  and  the  improvement  of  the  Illinois  and 
Desplaines  rivers,  so  that  all  steamers  and  gun-boats  which  navi- 
gate the  Mississippi,  can  pass  directly  into  Lake  Michigan  at 
Chicago.  Also,  a  ship-canal  around  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  and 
the  enlargement  of  the  locks  of  the  Erie  and  Oswego  canals,  by 
which  gun-boats  can  pass  directly  from  the  Atlantic  into  Lakes 
Ontario  and  Erie. 

We  will  not  undertake  to  decide  between  the  merits  of  these 
various  proposition?,  nor  whether  it  may  not  be  expedient  to  enter 
npon  the  construction  of  all,  or  to  extend  aid  to  all;  but  we  would 
most  earnestly  press  upon  the  consideration  of  the  President  and 
of  Congress,  the  importance  of  securing  at  the  earliest  practicable 
period,  a  steamboat  and  ship-canal  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Lakes,  and  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Hudson  and  the  Atlantic. 

It  was  well  said  by  Washington,  "  that  if  we  desire  peace,  it 
must  be  known  that  we  are  at  all  times  ready  for  war" 

The  military  position  is,  in  a  few  words,  this :  On  the  American 
side,  the  Northern  frontier  is  defenseless.  It  is  amply  defended  on 
the  British  side.  England  can  take  her  gun-boats  from  the  ocean 
through  the  canals  and  the  St.  Lawrence  into  the  Lakes  with 


233 

facility.  We  cannot  do  it  at  all.  Great  Britain  has  constructed 
canals  for  this  express  purpose.  We  have  no  such  military  canals. 
England,  years  ago,  did  that  for  the  defense  of  Canada,  which  our 
Government  is  now  asked  to  do  for  our  own  country.  Without 
the  ship  and  steamboat-canals,  our  Lake  commerce  and  cities  are 
at  her  mercy.  With  the  enlarged  canals,  through  our  great  su- 
periority in  mariners,  steamers,  vessels,  and  material  on  the  Lakes, 
we  are  secure,  and  our  supremacy  is  certain. 

Our  security  will  be  found  in  providing  the  means  of  floating 
"Uncle  Sam's  webbed  feet,"  as  the  President  calls  our  gun-boats, 
into  the  Lakes.  The  work  done  by  these  "  web-footed  gun-boats" 
in  this  war,  "  not  only  on  the  deep  sea,  the  broad  bay,  and  the  rapid 
river,  but  also  up  the  narrow  bayou  and  wherever  the  ground  was 
'  a  little  damp?  "  has  furnished  most  valuable  illustrations  of  their 
importance  in  all  military  operations. 

Surely  our  Government  will  not  do  less  in  providing  military 
canals  for  the  security  of  the  very  heart  and  life  of  the  nation, 
the  homes  of  ten  millions  of  people,  than  Great  Britain  has  done 
for  a  remote  colony  and  a  dependency,  which  she  seems  sometimes 
not  very  reluctant  to  have  detached  as  an  incumbrance. 

Great  Britain  has  constructed  the  Canadian  canals  to  secure 
distant  and  sparsely  settled  provinces,  whose  commerce  is  small 
compared  with  ours,  and  upon  which,  therefore,  the  injury  we  could 
inflict  in  case  of  war,  would  be  trifling  as  compared  with  that  to 
which  our  Lake  towns  and  commerce  would  be  exposed  in  case 
England  should  obtain  supremacy  on  the  Lakes. 

The  above  are  some  of  the  reasons  why  we  most  fully  concur  in 
the  resolution  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Convention  by  which  we 
were  appointed,  "  that  canals,  with  dimensions  sufficient  to  pass 
gun-boats  from  the  Mississippi  to  Lake  Michigan,  and  from  the 
Atlantic  to  and  from  the  Great  Lakes,  will  furnish  the  cheapest 
and  most  efficient  means  of  protecting  the  Northern  frontier.'1'' 

2.     COMMERCIAL  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  SHIP-CANALS. 

Your  memorialists,  having  presented  their  views  of  the  military 
importance  of  these  canals,  ask  attention  to  some  considerations 
Bhowing  that  they  have  become  a  commercial  necessity. 

The  configuration  of  the  North  American  continent  presents  the 
most  remarkable  adaptation  to  internal  commerce  of  any  portion 
of  the  globe. 

The  great  interior  basin  drained  by  the  Mississippi  and  its  trib- 


234 

utaries,  with  ten  thousand  miles  of  steamboat  navigation ;  the 
Lakes,  with  their  shore  lines  of  five  thousand  miles,  and  with  more 
than  ninety  thousand  square  miles  of  surface,  these  great  Mediter- 
ranean seas  of  the  New  World,  can  be  connected  with  the  great 
river  of  the  West  by  a  steamboat  and  ship-canal  only  thirty-six 
miles  long ! 

The  commerce  of  these  Lakes,  carried  in  fleets  composed  of  six- 
teen hundred  and  forty-three  vessels  and  steamers,  reaches  in 
value  between  four  and  five  hundred  millions  of  dollars  per  annum. 
The  commerce  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  great  tributaries,  before 
the  rebellion,  it  is  believed,  was  not  less  in  value.  A  direct  union 
between  these  waters  will  be  like  the  union  of  two  oceans.  The 
Suez  canal  does  not  compare  in  importance  with  a  ship-canal  from 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Lakes.  No  day  should  delay  its  accom- 
plishment. 

The  outlet  to  the  Atlantic  by  the  East  is  equally  remarkable  with 
that  of  the  South,  and  equally  favorable  to  the  commercial  develop- 
ment and  unity  of  our  country.  The  arm  of  Almighty  God  cut 
down  the  barriers  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  ordained  that  the  ocean 
tides  should  flow  through  the  highland  passes  of  these  mountains. 
The  broad  Hudson  stretching  away  northerly  towards  the  Lakes 
pointed  to  the  sagacious  statesmen  of  New  York  the  pathway  to 
empire.  The  genius  of  De  Witt  Clinton,  quick  to  catch  the  clear 
intimation,  consummated  what  nature  had  so  nearly  completed, 
and  opened  the  way  by  the  New  York  canals  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Lakes.  Illinois,  by  the  aid  of  the  Federal  Government,  fol- 
lowed, completing  the  water-channel  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi ;  and  now  we  have  only  to  follow  the  finger  of  God,  as 
interpreted  by  Clinton,  and  consummate  what  is  so  nearly  done, 
and  w«  have  an  east  and  west  Mississippi  from  the  Missouri  to  the 
Atlantic. 

WE  HAVE  OUTGROWN  OUR  CANALS. 

The  great  commercial  fact  of  to-day,  felt  and  realized,  is,  that 
we  have  outgrown  our  canals.  The  country  is  too  big  for  them. 
The  problem  is,  shall  production  stop  its  increase,  or  shall  our 
canals  be  enlarged?  The  necessity  of  this  enlargement  is  mani- 
fest by  the  enormous  profits  of  the  great  railways,  and  the 
extravagant  rates  of  transportation,  showing  that  the  quantity  to 
be  carried  forward  is  so  vast  that  carriers  command  their  own 
terms.  The  warehouses  and  mammoth  elevators  of  the  Lake 
towns  for  the  last  two  years  have  been  crushed  with  freight;  every 


235 

thing  which  could  be  made  to  float  on  the  Lakes  and  canals,  has 
been  taxed  to  the  utmost,  and  proved  insufficient  to  carry  to 
market  the  products  of  the  West  This  necessity  for  greater 
facilities,  and  the  failure  in  Congress  of  the  bills  for  enlarging  the 
New  York  and  Illinois  canals,  have  led  to  a  zealous  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  West  to  obtain,  by  Canadian  canals,  that  relief  which 
is  (we  trust  only  temporarily)  denied  through  our  own  country, 
and  by  our  own  Government.  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  through 
their  State  authorities,  and  the  Boards  of  Trade  of  several  Lake 
cities,  appointed  delegates  to  Canada,  to  obtain,  if  possible,  avenues 
to  market  for  the  vast  accumulation  of  Western  produce. 

Necessity  will  force  the  West  into  new  avenues  to  the  Atlantic, 
unless  the  present  are  enlarged.  That  both  Canada  and  Great 
Britain  appreciate  the  value  of  this  Western  trade,  is  shown  by 
their  construction,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  it,  of  the  Victoria 
Bridge  at  Montreal,  at  a  cost  of  seven  millions  of  dollars,  and  the 
Grand  Trunk  Railway  at  a  cost  of  about  sixty  millions  of  dollars, 
in  addition  to  the  canals  before  referred  to. 

It  is  obvious  from  these  and  other  facts,  that  we  have  reached 
that  point,  when,  with  our  present  means  of  transportation,  the 
production  of  corn  and  other  cereals  cannot  to  any  great  ex- 
tent be  profitably  increased.  This  condition  should  not  surprise 
ns.  The  canals  were  constructed  while  the  West  was  in  embryo. 
In  1837,  the  number  of  tons  transported  from  west  of  Buffalo,  on 
the  Erie  Canal,  was  56,255.  In  1861,  the  number  reached 
2,156,426. 

The  product  of  wheat  and  corn  carried  on  the  New  York  canals 
from  the  Lake  States  of  Ohio,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Indiana  and  Wis- 
consin, in  1850,  was  252,000,000  bushels ;  in  1860,  354,000,000 
bushels. 

The  population  of  these  States,  and  Iowa,  Kansas,  Minnesota, 
Missouri  and  Nebraska,  in  1850,  was  5,403,595;  in  1860,  it  was 
9,092,009. 

The  value  of  Western  products  has  increased  more  than  100 
per  cent,  in  the  last  four  years.  In  1859,  it  was,  in  round  numbers, 
$53,000,000,  and  in  1862,  $111,000,000.  Our  foreign  exports  are 
made  up  largely  of  breadstuffs  and  provisions.  In  four  years  they 
increased  from  $38,305,991  in  1859,  to  $122,650,043.27  in  1862, 
increasing  in  two  years  180  per  cent,  and  in  three  years  220  per 
cent.  The  amount  of  $122,650,043  for  1862,  is  exclusive  of 
$11,100,043  which  went  out  through  Canada,  making  the  aggregate 
over  $133,750,000. 


236 

The  following  tables,  compiled  from  the  preliminary  report  of 
the  census  for  1860,  will  show  the  progress  of  the  West,  and  will 
furnish  data  by  which  its  present  and  future  necessities  may  be 
more  fully  realized. 


POPULATION  OP  THE  NORTH-WESTEEN  STATES  IN  1850  AND  1860. 


STATES. 

1850. 

1860. 

.Ratio  of 
Increase. 

851,470 

1,711,951 

101.05 

988,416 

1,350,428 

36.63 

192,214 

674  913 

251.12 

Kansas  

107,206 

397,654 

749  113 

88.88 

6  077 

172,123 

2,732.36 

682,044 

1,182,012 

73.30 

Ohio  

1  980  329 

2  339  511 

18  13 

Wisconsin  

305  391 

775  881 

154  06 

5,403,595 

9,063,138 

28,841 

5,403,595 

9,091,979 

68.25 

VALUE  OF  REAL  AND  PERSONAL  PROPERTY  IN  THE  NORTH-WESTERN  STATES 
IN  1850  AND  1860. 


STATES. 

185O. 

1860. 

Ratio  of 
Increase. 

Illinois  

$166  265,006 

$871,860,282 

457  93 

202,650,264 

528,835,371 

160.95 

23  714,638 

247,338,265 

942.97 

81,327,895 

59,787,255 

257,163,983 

330.13 

Minnesota  

52,294,413 

Missouri  

137  247  707 

501,214,398 

265.18 

Ohio      

504,726  120 

1,193,898,422 

136.54 

42  056,595 

273,671,668 

550.72 

TOTALS  

$1  126  447  585 

$3  957  604  697 

Nebraska  

9,131,056 

GRAND  TOTALS  

$1,126,447  585 

$3,966,735,753 

243.  2S 

NOTE. — In  the  official  reports  at  hand,  no  separation  Is  made  of  the  respective  amounts  of  real 
eetat«  and  personal  property  in  1850. 


237 


NUMBER  OF  ACRES  AND  VALUE  OP  IMPROVED  LANDS,  AND  RATIO  TO  TOTAL  AREA 
IN  THE  NORTH-WESTERN  STATES,  IN  1850  AND  1860. 


STATES. 

TOTAL  ABBA. 
Acres. 

IMPROVED  LANDS,  1850. 

Ratio  of  Im- 
prov'd  Landa 
to  Total  Area. 

IMPROVED  LANDS,  1860. 

i« 

*•*& 
is* 

K  0,3 

No.  of  Acres. 

Value. 

No.  of  Acres. 

Value. 

Illinois  

85,459,200 
21,687,760 
82,584,960 
78,470,720 
85,995,520 
106,256,000 
48,123,200 
25,576,960 
84,511,860 

5,039,545 
5,046,543 
824,682 

$96,183,290 
136,385,173 
16,657,667 

14.21 
23.26 
2.58 

18,251,473 
8,161,717 
3,780,253 
872,885 
8,419,861 
554,897 
6,246,871 
12,665,587 
8,746,086 

$482,581,072 
844,902,776 
118,741,405 
11,894,184 
163,279,037 
19,070,787 
230,632,126 
666,564,171 
181,117,082 

87.51 
87.71 
11.60 
0.50 
9  77 
0.52 
1.44 
49.51 
10.85 

Iowa  

Michigan  

1,929,110 
5,035 
2,938,425 
9,851,493 
1,045,499 

51,872,446 
161,948 
63,225,543 
858,758,608 
28,528,568 

6.85 
0.04 
6.81 
88.61 
8.02 

Minnesota  

Ohio  

Wisconsin  

TOTALS...  .... 

408,615,580 
214,964,480 

26,680,332 

$751,728,188 

6.52 

62,199,030 
122,582 

2,118,282,640 
8,916,002 

12.27 
0.05 

Nebraska  

GRAND  TOTALS.. 

628,580,060 

26,680,882 

$751,728,188 

4.27 

62,821,612 

2,122,148,642 

8.13 

QUANTITY  OF  WHEAT  AND  INDIAN  CORN  IN  THE  NORTH-WESTERN  STATES  IN 

1850  AND  1860. 


STATES. 

WHEAT.    Bush. 

INDIAN  CORN.    Bush. 

1850. 

1860. 

1850. 

1860. 

9,414,575 
6,214,468 
1,530,581 

24,159,500 
15,219,120 
8.433,205 
'168,527 
8,313,185 
2,195,812 
4,227,686 
14,532,670 
15,812,625 

57,646,984 
52,964,363 
8,656,799 

115,296,779 
69,641,591 
41,116,994 
6,678,834 
12,152,110 
2,987,570 
72,892.157 
70,637,140 
7,565,290 

Kansas  

Michigan  

4,925,889 
1,401 
2,981,652 
14,487,351 
4,286,131 

5,641,420 
16,725 
86,214,537 
69,078,695 
1,988,979 

Ohio  

Wisconsin  

43,842,038 

93,062,130 
72,268 

222,208,502 

897,968,465 
1,846,785 

Nebraska  

GRAND  TOTALS  

43,842,038 

93,134,398 

222,208,602 

399,815,240 

238 


NUMBER  OP  MILES  OP  RAILROAD  IN  OPERATION  IN  THE  NORTH-WESTERN  STATES 

IN  1850  AND  1860. 


STATES. 

1850. 

1860. 

110.50 

2,867.90 

228.00 

2,125.90 

679.67 

342.00 

799.80 

817.45 

Ohio  

675.  2*7 

2,900.75 

20.00 

922.61 

1,276.77 

11,118.58 

With  the  canals  enlarged  as  proposed,  production  may  be  stim- 
ulated a  hundred  fold,  and  yet  still  yield  a  fair  profit  to  the  pro- 
ducer. These  enlarged  canals,  reducing  materially  the  cost  of 
transportation,  will  enable  us  to  compete  successfully  in,  and  per- 
haps control  the  foreign  market,  for  breadstuffs  and  provisions. 
Every  acre  of  land  west  of  the  Lakes  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  from  Cairo  and  even  Memphis  north  to,  and  including  Minne- 
sota, will  be  brought  practically  hundreds  of  miles  nearer  market, 
and  of  course  every  acre  of  land  throughout  this  vast  area  will  be 
increased  in  value. 

This  will  stimulate  emigration,  settlement  and  production,  and 
secure  the  early  cultivation  of  the  fertile  lands  of  the  Mississippi 
valley ;  and  secure  to  our  agriculturists  the  markets  of  the  world. 
With  these  canals,  the  Western  farmer  can  compete  successfully 
with  the  grain-producing  countries  of  the  old  world,  and  drive 
them  from  the  field  of  competition. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  increased  production  of  food 
in  Europe  is  limited  by  physical  difficulties.  The  country  is  old, 
thickly  peopled,  and  the  good  land  is  all  improved.  Mountains, 
barren  wastes,  and  irreclaimable  marshes,  offer  obstacles  to  any 
great  increase  in  the  production  of  food. 

With  us  it  is  otherwise.  We  have  a  soil  of  inexhaustible  fertility, 
a  large  portion  of  it  as  yet  unbroken.  There  is  spread  out  be- 
tween the  Lakes  and  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  millions  and 
millions  of  acres  of  the  richest  land  on  earth.  This  soil  has  a  pecu- 
liarity of  great  significance.  It  is  so  admirably  adapted  to  the 
use  of  labor-saving  machinery,  that  although  the  North- West  has 


239 

sent  not  less  than  half  a  million  of  her  most  efficient  laborers  to  the 
camp  as  volunteers,  their  absence  has  been  so  successfully  supplied 
by  labor-saving  machines,  that  the  quantity  of  land  cultivated  has 
not  been  lessened,  nor  the  crops  materially  diminished.  God  has 
so  fashioned  this  land,  that  with  small  labor  it  will  yield  the  most 
bountiful  return  in  endless  crops  of  food.  He  has  fitted  it  to  be 
the  garden  and  granary  of  the  world,  richer  even  than  the  Valley 
of  the  Nile.  He  causes  the  sun  to  shine,  and  the  rain  to  fall  upon 
this  land,  and  clothes  it  with  a  rank  and  luxurious  vegetation 
which  annually  decays  where  it  grows,  or  feeds  the  prairie  fires 
which  sweep  over  it  in  autumn.  We  have  the  land,  the  laborer  is 
ready,  but  without  these  enlarged  canals,  the  labor  will  not  be 
remunerative,  and  the  land  will  not  be  cultivated. 

Corn,  for  want  of  adequate  means  of  transportation,  is,  on  the 
Western  prairies,  annually  consumed  for  fuel.  This  does  not  pay. 
Shall  Europe  starve  for  bread,  and  our  rich  prairies  remain  uncul- 
tivated for  want  of  these  canals  to  carry  the  products  to  market  ? 
Let  Congress  answer  by  its  action  on  these  great  questions  now 
presented. 

By  reference  to  the  reports  of  the  Boards  of  Trade  and  Mercan- 
tile Associations  submitted  to  the  Convention,  and  which  we  be- 
lieve to  be  entirely  reliable,  it  appears  that  the  enlarged  canals 
would  reduce  the  cost  of  transportation  between  Chicago  and  New 
York  at  least  ten  cents,  and  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Atlantic  at  least  fifteen  cents  a  bushel.  Divide  this  saving  between 
the  Western  producer  and  the  Eastern  consumer,  and  while  you 
raise  the  price  of  every  bushel  of  wheat  and  corn  to  the  farmer, 
you  reduce  the  price  of  every  loaf  of  bread  in  every  house  in  New 
England  and  the  sea-board  cities.  The  crop  of  1862  shipped  to 
the  East  through  the  canals  alone,  exceeded  one  hundred  millions 
of  bushels !  When  we  remember  that  the  West  pays  annually 
more  than  fifty  millions  of  dollars  for  transporting  its  produce  to 
market,  it  is  obvious  that  there  would  be  saved  on  the  transporta- 
tion of  a  single  crop  more  than  the  entire  cost  of  these  improve- 
ments. 

But  it  is  not  the  trade  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  only,  vast  as  it 
now  is,  and  almost  incalculable  in  its  future,  that  will  require  these 
enlarged  canals.  All  this  will  at  no  distant  day  be  augmented  by 
contributions  from  the  auriferous  regions  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
the  Valley  of  the  Columbia,  and  the  Pacific  Coast  The  mineral 
wealth  of  this  region  being  rapidly  developed  is  not  yet  appre- 
ciated. The  copper  and  iron  of  Lake  Superior,  the  lead  of  Illinois 


240 

and  Wisconsin,  the  inexhaustible  coal-fields  of  the  great  interior 
basin,  and  the  silver  and  gold  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  added  to 
the  agricultural  wealth  of  the  great  interior,  make  it  among  the 
most  favored  portions  of  the  globe.  To  develop  these  advantages 
requires  the  immediate  construction  of  these  canals. 

THE    WOKDS   OF   BENTOtf. 

The  great  statesman  of  Missouri,  THOMAS  H.  BENTON,  a  man 
whose  vast  information  and  ideas  were  worthy  of  the  Mississippi 
valley,  in  1847  addressed  the  River  and  Harbor  Convention  in 
words  worthy  of  being  recalled  to  the  attention  of  the  American 
people  to-day. 

He  says : 

"  The  lake  and  river  navigation  of  the  Great  West,  to  promote  which  your 
Convention  is  called,  very  early  had  a  share  of  my  attention,  and  I  never  had 
a  doubt  of  the  constitutionality  or  expediency  of  bringing  that  navigation  within 
the  circle  of  internal  improvements,  by  the  Federal  Government,  when  the  object 
of  the  improvement  should  be  of  general  and  national  importance. 

"  The  junction  of  the  two  great  systems  of  waters  which  occupy  so  much  of  our 
country,  the  Northern  Lakes  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Mississippi  River  and  its 
tributaries  on  the  other,  appeared  to  me  to  be  an  object  of  that  character,  and 
Chicago  the  proper  point  for  effecting  the  union  ;  and  near  thirty  years  ago  I  wrote 
and  published  articles  in  a  St.  Louis  paper  in  favor  of  that  object,  indicated  and 
almost  accomplished  by  nature  herself,  and  wanting  from  man  little  to  complete 
it.  These  were  probably  the  first  formal  communications  upon  authentic  data  it) 
favor  of  the  Chicago  canal. 

"The  nationality  of  the  Chicago  canal  and  the  harbor  at  its  mouth  are  by  no 
means  new  conceptions  with  me. 

"  The  river  navigation  of  the  Great  West  is  the  most  wonderful  on  the  globe,  and 
since  the  application  of  steam  power  to  the  propulsion  of  vessels,  possesses  the 
essential  qualities  of  open  navigation.  Speed,  distance,  cheapness,  magnitude  of 
cargoes,  are  all  there,  and  without  the  perils  of  the  sea  from  storms  and  enemies. 
The  steamboat  is  the  ship  of  the  river,  and  finds  in  the  Mississippi  and  its  tribu- 
taries the  amplest  theatre  for  the  diffusion  and  the  display  of  its  power.  Won- 
derful river  !  Connected  with  seas  by  the  head  and  by  the  mouth,  stretching  its 
arms  towards  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific — lying  in  a  valley  which  is  a  valley 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  Hudson's  Bay — drawing  its  first  waters  not  from  rug- 
ged moantains,  but  from  the  plateau  of  the  Lakes  in  the  centre  of  the  continent, 
and  in  communication  with  the  sources  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  streams  which 
take  their  course  north  to  Hudson's  Bay — draining  the  largest  extent  of  richest 
land,  collecting  the  products  of  every  clime,  even  the  frigid,  to  bear  the  whole  to 
market  in  the  sunny  South,  and  there  to  meet  the  products  of  the  entire  world. 
Such  is  the  Mississippi.  And  who  can  calculate  the  aggregate  of  its  advantages, 
and  the  magnitude  of  its  future  commercial  results  ?" 


241 

Hear  SILAS  WEIGHT,  as  worthy  to  speak  for  the  East,  as  Benton 
for  the  West : 

"  I  am  aware  that  questions  of  constitutional  power  have  been  raised  in  refer- 
ence to  appropriations  of  money  by  Congress,  for  the  improvement  of  Lake  har- 
bors, and  I  am  well  convinced  that  honest  men  have  sincerely  entertained  strong 
scruples  upon  this  point ;  but  all  my  observation  and  experience  have  induced  me 
to  believe  that  these  scruples,  where  the  individual  admits  the  power  to  improve 
the  Atlantic  harbors,  arises  from  the  want  of  an  acquaintance  with  the  Lakes  and 
the  commerce  upon  them,  and  an  inability  to  believe  the  facts  in  relation  to  that 
commerce,  when  truly  stated.  It  is  not  easy  for  one  familiar  with  the  Lakes  and 
the  Lake  commerce,  to  realize  the  degree  of  incredulity,  as  to  the  magnitude  and 
importance  of  both,  which  is  found  in  the  minds  of  honest  and  well-informed  men, 
residing  in  remote  portions  of  the  Union,  and  having  no  personal  acquaintance 
with  either  ;  while  I  do  not  recollect  an  instance  of  a  Member  of  Congress,  who 
has  traveled  the  Lakes  and  observed  the  commerce  upon  them  within  the  last  ten 
years,  requiring  any  further  evidence  or  argument  to  induce  him  to  admit  the  con- 
stitutional power,  and  the  propriety  of  appropriations  for  the  Lake  harbors,  as 
much  as  for  those  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  I  have  long  been  of  the  opinion,  there- 
fore, that  to  impress  the  minds  of  the  people  of  all  portions  of  the  Union  with  a 
realizing  sense  of  the  facts  as  they  are  in  relation  to  these  inland  seas,  and  their 
already  vast  and  increasing  commerce,  would  be  all  that  is  required  to  secure  such 
appropriations  as  the  state  of  the  National  Treasury  will  from  time  to  time  permit, 
for  the  improvement  of  the  Lake  harbors." 

But  the  scruples  which  Benton  and  Wright  sought  to  remove, 
disappear  in  the  light  of  the  census  returns  showing  the  national, 
not  to  say  continental,  character  of  the  commerce  to  be  relieved : 
and  now  that  the  action  of  Great  Britain  has  given  to  these  im- 
provements the  character  of  necessary,  defensive  military  works, 
these  scruples  disappear,  and  are  no  longer  entitled  to  serious  con- 
sideration. It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  to  the  magnificent 
enterprise  of  the  Erie  Canal,  the  North- West  owes  its  existence. 
This  great  section  would  have  been  as  yet  in  its  feeble  infancy,  but 
for  the  enterprise  of  Clinton  and  the  genius  of  Fulton. 

The  enlargement  of  the  canals  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Atlantic  would  create  a  new  era,  from  which  would  date  another 
career  of  advance  and  progress  equally  rapid  and  important.  The 
wave  of  emigration,  checked  by  the  war,  is  already  returning,  and 
will  soon  be  upon  us  with  increased  volume. 

The  expenditures  asked  for  by  the  contemplated  improvements 
are  light  indeed :  so  much  has  already  been  done  by  Nature  and 
by  the  States  through  which  the  improvements  are  to  pass,  that 
the  cost  of  the  completion  of  the  ship-canal  will  be  small  compared 
with  the  results.  We  believe  the  Illinois  canal  can  be  constructed 
in  the  manner  proposed  by  the  Legislature  of  Illinois  to  the  last 
16 


242 

Congress,  without  costing  the  National  Treasury  a  single  dollar, 
that  its  tolls  would  soon  pay  interest  and  principal  upon  its  cost, 
and  thus  this  great  national  work,  free  at  all  times  for  the  military 
purposes  of  the  Government,  would  soon,  having  paid  its  cost, 
become  free  to  the  vast  and  constantly  increasing  commerce  of  the 
Lakes  and  the  Mississippi. 

These  enlarged  communications  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Lakes  and  the  Atlantic  would  save,  every  year,  in  lessening  the 
amount  paid  for  transportation,  more  than  their  cost.  There  is  not 
an  acre  of  land  between  Lakes  Michigan  and  Superior  and  the 
western  barrier  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  including  the  Valley 
of  the  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans,  but  would  be  increased  in 
value,  and  the  aggregate  of  such  increase  would  bear  no  proportion 
to  the  amount  required  to  complete  the  works. 

There  is  not  a  bushel  of  wheat  or  corn,  nor  a  barrel  of  pork  or 
of  beef,  nor  of  any  article  of  food  in  this  whole  area,  but  would 
be  enhanced  in  value.  The  year  these  works  should  be  completed 
they  would  add  to  the  taxable  property  of  the  nation,  an  amount 
the  taxes  upon  which  in  a  single  year  would  pay  off  their  cost. 

Such  we  believe,  without  exaggeration,  are  some  of  the  advan- 
tages commercially  and  economically  to  result  from  these  im- 
provements. 

We  have  referred  to  the  commerce  and  trade  of  the  Lakes  and 
the  Mississippi  combined  as  vastly  greater  than  our  foreign  com- 
merce, and  as  supplying  the  bulk  of  our  foreign  exports.  This  is 
the  West  of  to-day,  with  less  than  one-twentieth  part  of  its  avail- 
able land  improved.  Stimulate  industry,  invite  emigration  and 
improvement  by  these  canals,  and  who  can  estimate  its  future  ? 
What  figures  or  language  shall  describe  its  greatness  ? 

To  render  complete  this  great  national  work  it  will  be  necessary 
to  clear  the  rapids  of  the  Mississippi  river  at  two  points,  namely, 
above  Keokuk,  and  above  Rock  Island ;  this  is  an  improvement 
long  demanded  by  every  State  bordering  on  the  great  river,  and 
of  such  acknowledged  importance  as  already  to  have  been  partially 
accomplished  by  the  Federal  Government. 

This  will  perfect  the  water-communication  both  between  the 
extreme  Northern  States  and  the  South,  and  the  same  States  and 
the  East;  the  first  by  the  river  alone,  the  latter  by  river,  canals, 
and  lakes  combined. 

The  outlay  required  for  the  removal  of  obstructions  at  these  two 
points,  to  make  good  the  navigation,  is  inconsiderable,  and  the 


243 

advantage  most  important  in  a  military  as  well  as  a  commercial 
point  of  view. 

3.  NATIONAL  UNITY  WILL  BE  FOREVEK  SECUEED  BY  THESE 
CANALS. 

No  reflecting  mind  who  has  marked  the  events  of  the  last  two 
years,  but  will  admit  that  among  the  influences  that  have  made  sep- 
aration and  disunion  impossible,  was  the  Mississippi  river.  The 
great  river  of  the  West  has  been  strong  enough  to  hold  the  Union 
together.  Never  in  the  darkest,  gloomiest  hour  of  the  rebellion, 
has  the  West  considered  it  a  debatable  question  that  she  could 
ever,  under  any  circumstances,  consent  to  separation.  Her  gallant 
soldiers  have  marched  right  on  from  Cairo  to  the  Gulf,  like  the 
current  of  her  great  river,  resistless,  overcoming  every  difficulty, 
triumphing  over  every  obstacle,  until  no  rebel  flag  now  floats  upon 
her  waters.  She  was  deaf  to  the  overtures  of  the  traitors,  who 
sought  by  alluring  promises  of  commercial  advantages  to  seduce 
the  North- West  from  her  fealty  to  the  Nation.  The  West  means 
to  maintain  the  unity  and  integrity  of  the  whole  country.  With 
one  hand  she  grasps  the  South,  and  with  the  other  she  clasps  the 
East,  and  she  will  never  consent  to  reach  the  ocean  in  either  direc- 
tion through  foreign  territory. 

But  it  must  have  occurred  to  every  thoughtful  mind  how  the 
ties  which  bind  us  together  would  be  strengthened  and  multiplied 
by  these  ship-canals,  creating  another  Mississippi  from  St.  Louis, 
and  Kansas,  and  St.  Paul,  to  New  York  and  Boston.  It  has  been 
well  said,  that  the  myriad-fibered  cordage  of  commercial  relations, 
slight  in  any  individual  instance,  but  indissoluble  in  their  multitudi- 
nous combination,  produces  such  unity  of  purpose,  unity  of  interest, 
intelligence,  sentiment,  and  national  pride,  and  social  feeling,  and 
that  homogeneousness  of  population  which  unites  peoples  and 
maintains  nationalities.  Such  will  grow  up  with  a  power  which 
no  sectional  feeling  can  break  between  the  East  and  West,  when 
connected  together  by  these  canals. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  in  our  history  that  the  same  man  who  was 
the  father  of  nullification,  the  author  of  the  secession  heresy — the 
man  who  planted  the  seeds  of  this  bloody  rebellion,  and  nurtured 
them  while  he  lived — in  his  earlier  and  better  days  was  a  truly 
national  statesman,  with  an  enlightened  patriotism  which  embraced 
the  whole  country. 

In  1824,  John  C.  Calhoun,  then  Secretary  of  War,  in  advocating 
the  construction  of  roads  and  canals  by  the  National  Government, 


244 

said:  "  Let  us  bind  the  Republic  together,  let  us  conquer  space, 
by  a  perfect  system  of  roads  and  canals." 

It  was  said  by  Montesquieu,  that  a  Republic  could  not  exist  and 
govern  a  large  territory.  There  was  some  truth  in  the  remark 
when  he  made  it,  and  it  has  in  it  still  enough  of  reason,  in  spite 
of  steam,  railways  and  telegraphs,  and  other  agencies  that  annihi- 
late distance,  to  make  it  wise  for  our  statesmen  to  bind  our 
different  sections  together  by  every  means  in  their  power.  The 
rebellion  has  demonstrated  the  necessity  of  a  closer  union  and  a 
more  consolidated  nationalityi  No  agency  will  be  more  effective 
in  securing  these,  than  these  great  ship-canals. 

The  nation  has  expended  its  millions  of  treasure  without  regard 
to  the  amount,  and  its  blood  has  been  poured  out  like  water  to 
open  the  Mississippi,  and  yet  no  one  has  been  found  to  declare  that 
the  cost  has  been  too  great  for  the  object.  Such  is  the  profound 
conviction  that  we  must  maintain  the  integrity  of  the  Union  and  a 
iree  passage  to  the  Gulf  and  the  Sea.  The  Eastern  pathway  to 
the  Ocean  by  these  enlarged  canals  would  be  still  more  important, 
and  would  serve  still  more  strongly  to  bind  the  Union  together. 
And  yet  this  can  all  be  secured  by  a  sum  less  than  a  month's  mili- 
tary expenditure  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  without  one 
drop  of  precious  blood. 

If  the  map  of  the  territory,  which  is  to  be  connected  by  these 
canals,  extending  from  the  West  to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic, 
were  laid  over  the  map  of  Europe,  that  portion  of  the  globe  which 
for  the  last  thousand  years  has  engrossed  the  attention  of  the  civil- 
ized world,  would  be  entirely  covered.  It  would  overspread  mon- 
archies, empires  and  nationalities,  which  for  ages  have  been 
antagonistic,  belligerent — the  great  battle-fields  of  Europe.  It 
would  cover  the  theatre  of  the  great  wars,  which  have  desolated 
and  depopulated  again  and  again  that  continent,  from  France  and 
"Waterloo  to  Sebastopol.  Human  beings  by  the  million  have  been 
sacrificed  in  the  wars  of  the  Fredericks,  of  the  Louises,  of  the  Phil- 
lips, and  the  Charleses,  of  the  Marlboroughs  and  of  the  Buonapartes. 
Millions  and  millions  of  treasure  wrung  from  the  toil  of  the  laboring 
masses,  have  been  expended  in  fortifying  frontiers,  and  the  opera- 
tions of  these  wars.  Rivers  of  blood  have  flowed,  so  that  you  can- 
not take  a  day's  ride  in  Europe,  without  passing  over  fields  memor- 
able for  human  slaughter.  Shall  these  scenes  of  butchery  and 
desolation  be  re-enacted  in  our  own  beloved  country  ?  Shall  this 
fair  country,  lately  so  peaceful,  prosperous  and  happy,  break  into 
fragments  ?  Shall  the  Hudson,  the  Susquehannah,  the  Delaware, 


245 

and  the  Ohio  bristle  with  fortifications  ?  Shall  the  Atlantic  States' 
contend  in  battle  with  the  generous  West  ?  Shall  we  ever  re-en- 
act upon  these  fair  prairies  and  broad  lakes  the  bloody  pages  of 
European  history?  Shall  fratricidal  wars, with  all  their  horrors, 
their  merciless  expenditures  of  blood  and  treasure,  darken  the 
future  pages  df  American  history  ? 

God  forbid.  Could  some  divine  agency,  a  thousand  years  ago, 
have  made  of  Europe  a  great  confederate  nationality,  levelling  its' 
dividing  mountain's,  and  mingling  its  clans  into  one  great  homo- 
geneous people,  artd  made  it  free,  virtuous,  and  wise  enough  to  be 
united,  what  untold  misery  and  suffering  would  have  been  pre- 
vented. 

No  levelling  of  dividing  mountains  is  here  necessary.  God 
in  his  goodness  has  fashioned  our  country,  vast  as  it  is,  for 
unity.  He  has  given  us  one  language,  the  same  laws,  and  one 
glorious  flagi  He  has  made  one  great  nationality  a  necessity.  He 
has  blessed  us  with  liberty.  Let  us  second  God's  plans,  and  aid 
and  strengthen  by  every  generous  means  the  influences  which 
shall  hold  us  together  forever. 

What  are  a  few  millions  expended,  if  the  tendency  is  to 
strengthen  the  bonds  of  our  Union  ? 

Could  the  present  horrid  rebellion  have  been  prevented  at  any 
cost  of  money,  or  treasure,  how  wise,  how  economical,  how 
beneficent  the  expenditure  ? 

Let  no  narrow  jealousies,  let  no  sectional  prejudices  delay  these 
great  improvements  so  important  to  the  general  welfare,  so  neces- 
sary to  our  security,  so  favorable  to  our  commercial  development, 
so  just  to  the  Western  producer,  so  beneficial  to  the  Eastern 
consumer,  so  essential  to  the  growth  of  the  West ;  but  above  all, 
so  indispensably  useful  in  binding  our  wide  territory  in  one  per- 
petual Union. 

It  seems  to  your  memorialists  that  no  one  can  study  the  outlines 
of  our  country  without  becoming  satisfied  that  the  works  con- 
templated are  not  only  necessary,  but  inevitable.  Such  vast  ad- 
vantages at  such  small  cost  will  not  be  neglected  by  a  people  so 
sagacious  and  enterprising  as  those  represented  by  the  American 
Congress. 

Let  us  then  crown  the  mighty  military  struggle  in  which  we  are 
engaged  and  which  now  seems  to  be  approaching  a  triumphant 
close,  let  us  crown  it  by  one  of  those  signal  triumphs  of  peace, 
which,  not  less  than  the  victories  of  war,  shall  exhibit  our  devotion 


246 

to  the  Union,  and  our  determination  that  by  its  multiplied  bless- 
ings we  will  make  it  perpetual. 

Then,  looking  down  the  future,  may  we  contemplate  an  ocean- 
bound  Republic — a  glorious  band  of  an  unbroken  brotherhood  of 
States — with  its  hundreds  of  millions  of  people,  speaking  the  same 
language,  living  under  the  same  laws,  worshipping  the  same  God, 
and  over  all,  floating  the  same  flag,  consecrated  forever  to  Liberty 
and  Union. 

ISAAC  N.  ARNOLD,  Illinois. 

A.  A.  LOW,  New  York. 

P.  CHAMBERLIN,  Ohio. 

JAMES  A.  McDOUGALL,  California. 

EZRA  NYE,  New  Jersey. 

JUSTIN  S.  MORRILL,  Vermont. 

HENRY  L    DAWES,  Massachusetts. 

GEORGE  W.  JULIAN,  Indiana. 

THOMAS  M.  EDWARDS,  New  Hampshire, 

RUSSELL  BLAKELEY,  Minnesota. 

D.  R.  ANTHONY,  Kansas. 

T.  C.  HERSEY,  Maine. 

M.  M.  DAVIS,  Wisconsin. 

SAMUEL  L.  CASEY,  Kentucky, 


INDEX, 


Call  for  a  Ship-Canal  Convention , Page  3 

Morning  session   4 

Prayer  by  Rev.  Bishop  Simpson    5 

Address  of  Dr.  Brainard 6 — 9 

Committee  on  Nominations 10 

Afternoon  Session,  and  election  of  officers    11,  12 

Speech  of  Hon.  Hannibal  Hamlin,  the  President 13 

Rules  of  the  Convention,  and  discussions 14 — 18 

Speech  of  Gen.  Walbridge,  Vice  President,  of  New  York 19 

Speech  of  Mr.  Drake,  of  St.  Louis    20 

Proceedings  of  Wednesday,  June  3,  1868,  Prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  Clarkson  ....     21 

List  of  Committee  on  Resolutions 22 

Report,  of  the  Board  of  Trade  and  Mercantile  Associations  of  Chicago,  and 

discussions 23 — 28 

Delegation  from  Kentucky 29 

Debates   30 — 39 

Afternoon  Session  —  debates,  and  speeches 40 — 53 

Speech  of  Gov.  Washburne,  of  Maine 54 — 56 

Appointment  of  Executive  Committee 57,  58 

Proceedings  of  the  Executive  Committee 59,  60 

Report  of  the  Committee  appointed  to  collect  statistics  as  to  the  importance 
of  uniting  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  with  those  of  the  Atlantic, 

by  a  Ship-Canal 63—92 

National  aspects  and  constitutional  power  of  Congress   93,  94 

How  to  conduct  a  long  war    95,  96 

Commercial  and  military  aspects 97,  98 

Possibility  of  a  rupture 99 

Lake  defenses 100—105 

Report  of  Messrs.  Gooding  and  Preston,  as  to  the   plan   and  cost  of  the 

improvement  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  and  Illinois  river.  106 — 108 
Estimated  cost  of  enlarging  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  from  Chicago  to 
the  Desplaines  river  at  Joliet,  and  improvement  of  the  Desplaines  and 

Illinois  rivers  to  the  Mississippi,  320  miles  in  all 109,  110 

Niagara  Ship-Canal,  and  proposed  routes Ill — 114 

Rapids  of  the  upper  Mississippi 115 — 117 

Improvement  of  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers 118,   119 

Enlargement  of  the  New  York  canals 120 — 125 

Charges  by  the  Buffalo  route   1-26" 

Resolution  of  the  Canal  Board  of  the  State  of  New  York   127 

Missouri  and  Ohio  Basins..  ..128 — 130 


248 

Correspondence  —  Letter  from  Hon.  Edward  Bates,  Attorney  General  of  TT.  S.  181 

From  Hon.  Charles  Sumner,  Senator  from  Massachusetts 131 

From  Hon.  Richard  Yates,  Governor  of  Illinois .132 — 136 

From  Hon.  Justin  S.  Morrill,  Representative  from  Vermont .137,  138 

From  Hon.  W.  A.  Richardson,  Senator  from  Illinois 139 

From  Hon.  Samuel  C.  Fessenden,  Representative  from  Maine 139 

From  Hon.  J.  M.  Edmunds,  Commissioner  of  General  Land  Office  , 140 

From  Hon.  D.  Davis,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  U.  S.  141 
From  Col.  S.  H.  Long,  Chief  of  Bureau  of  U.  S.  Topograph.  Engineers.  141— 146 

From  Hon.  Edward  Everett,  late  U.  S.  Senator,  etc 146 

From  Hon.  J.  M.  Howard,  Senator  from  Michigan , ,   146 

From  J.  A.  Hamilton,  Esq.,  surviving  son  of  Alexander  Hamilton    ....   147 

From  Hon.  T.  0.  Howe,  Senator  from  Wisconsin 147 — 151 

From  Edwin  F.  Johnson,  Esq.,  Civil  Engineer,  Middletown,  Conn.  .152—155 
From  Hon.  W.  P.  Sheffield,  late  Representative  from  Rhode  Island  ....  156 

From  Hon.  George  Opdyke,  Mayor  of  New  York  City , ,.   157 

From  Hon.  S.  D.  Carpenter,  of  Wisconsin 157 

From  Charles  Lanman,  Esq.,  Librarian  of  House  of  Rep.,  Washington  . . .   158 

From  George  W.  Curtis,  Esq.,  of  New  York 159 

From  Fred.  L.  Olmsted,  Esq.,  Sec.  U.  S.  Sanitary  Commission,  Washington  160 

From  Maj.  Gen.  S.  R.  Curtis,  U.  S.  A 160 

From  Hon.  0.  B.  Ficklin,  late  Representative  from  Illinois 161 

From.  Hon.  E.  Fairbanks,  Ex-Governor  of  Vermont ,.,.   162 

From  B.  J.  Lossing,  Esq.,  of  New  York , , 163 

From  Hon.  J.  A.  Andrew,  Governor  of  Massachusetts  . . . . , , . . .   164 

From  Hon.  J.  P.  Kennedy,  formerly  Secretary  of  the  Navy 164 

From  Rev.  Dr.  Tappan,  late  Chancellor  of  University  of  Michigan  ....  165 
From  Brig.  Gen.  Webster,  formerly  of  Top.  Eng.,  now  of  Army  of  Miss.  .  166 
From  Hon.  Montgomery  Blair,  Postmaster  General  of  United  States  . .  166 

From  John  A.  Poor,  Esq.,  of  Maine  167—169 

From  the  Corporate  Authorities  of  Keokuk,  Iowa  ..., 170,  171 

From  Hon.  E.  Jackson,  of  Connecticut 172 

From  Hon.  J.  W.  Longyear,  Representative  elect  from  Michigan 172 

From  J.  S.  C.  Knowlton,  Esq.,  of  Massachusetts 172—174  ^ 

From  J.  W.  Beekman,  Esq.,  of  New  York , 176 

From  J.  Jewett,  Esq.,  Collector  of  port  of  Portland,  Maine 176 

From  Hon.  John  Wells,  of  Massachusetts 177 

From  B.  B.  French,  Esq.,  Commissioner  of  Public  Buildings,  Washington  .  177 
From  Hon.  Robert  J.  Walker,  formerly  Secretary  of  Treasury  of  U.  S.  178—194 

List  of  Delegates  to  Convention,  arranged  by  States  . . , . , 195 — 219 

Letter  from  Admiral  John  A.  Dahlgren,  Naval  Commander  before  Charleston.  221 

From  the  late  Admiral  A.  H.  Foote,  of  the  U.S.  Navy 221 

From  Hon.  William  Sprague,  Senator  from  Rhode  Island 222 

From  Hon.  A.  B.  Oliii,  Chairman  of  Military  Committee  of  the  House  of 

Representatives,  37th  Congress 222 

From  Hon.  Schuyler  Cblfax.,   Representative  from  Indiana   223 

Proceedings  of  Executive  Committee,  adopting  Memorial 225 

Memorial  to  the  President  and  Congress  of  the  United  States 227 — 246 


